Toowoomba Connection Road

The road commences in the rural locality of Helidon Spa, where it diverges from the Warrego Highway, providing a more direct route to the Toowoomba CBD. It passes through the rural localities of Postmans Ridge and Withcott before ascending the Great Dividing Range to Toowoomba. It passes between the CBD and South Toowoomba before turning north and then north-west through the suburbs of Newtown and Wilsonton. It then passes through outer suburbs to the rural locality of Charlton, where it ends at an intersection with the Warrego Highway and the Gore Highway.

==History==

In January 2011, the Warrego Highway was extensively damaged where it crossed the Toowoomba Range. This included land slips, shoulder and embankment erosion, the erosion of drains and damaged rock fall netting.{{cite web |url=http://qldreconstruction.org.au/case-studies/reconstruction-at-toowoomba-range-crossing |title=Reconstruction at Toowoomba Range crossing, Warrego Highway |work=Queensland Reconstruction Authority. |publisher=Queensland Government |access-date=5 August 2015 }} The road wasn't fully repaired with all four lanes open until September 2011.{{cite web |url=http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/Id/76645 |title=Toowoomba Range lanes reopen as part of Operation Queenslander |date=16 September 2011 |work=Media Statement |publisher=Queensland Government |access-date=5 August 2015 }}

The Toowoomba Bypass was completed in September 2019 and bypasses the urban area of Toowoomba and provides a better crossing of the Great Dividing Range. Warrego Highway (A2) was rerouted via the bypass between Helidon Spa (in the east) and the interchange at Charlton (in the west). The original section of Warrego Highway through Toowoomba was renamed Toowoomba Connection Road (A21).{{cite web|url=https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/projects/toowoomba-bypass|title=Toowoomba Bypass|website=Department of Transport and Main Roads|access-date=5 August 2020}}

The section of the Warrego Highway from Withcott to the top of the Toowoomba Range was first opened in January, 1855 as a toll road, named Toll Bar Road.{{cite web |url=http://expressway.paulrands.com/gallery/roads/qld/numbered/alphanumeric/m-a2/02_toowoombatochinchilla/index.html |title=Road Photos & Information: Queensland |author=Paul Rands |work=Gateway Motorway, Logan Motorway, Ipswich Motorway, Warrego Highway, Landsborough Highway and Barkly Highway (M2/A2) - Toowoomba to Chinchilla |access-date=30 December 2011}}{{self-published source|date=January 2014}} The toll collection point was marked by a bar across the road and a fence on either side. The upper section of Toll Bar Road was initially unsealed and very steep, with grades up to 14%. This road remained in use until December, 1939, when work on a new, less steep, upper section was completed. Part of the upper section is now a suburban street named Old Toll Bar Road.{{cite web |url=http://geocaching.com.au/cache/GA2076 |title=The Old Toll Bar |publisher=Geocaching Australia |access-date=30 December 2011}} The term "The Toll Bar" is sometimes used by locals to describe the current road, and it is also used in the mapping software distributed with Navman GPS systems.

A project under the Warrego Highway funding arrangements to upgrade two culverts in James Street (now part of this road) at a cost of $21.1 million, was completed in December 2020.{{cite web |url=https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/projects/warrego-highway-toowoomba-east-and-west-creek-culvert-upgrades |title=Warrego Highway–Toowoomba East Creek and West Creek: culvert upgrades |publisher=Queensland Government |date=22 November 2021 |access-date=13 July 2022}}

A project to develop a business case for the upgrade of the Hursley Road intersection, at a cost of $500,000, was to start in November 2021.{{cite web |url=https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/projects/toowoomba-connection-road-hursley-road-intersection-business-case |title=Toowoomba Connection Road, Hursley Road intersection, business case |publisher=Queensland Government |date=22 November 2021 |access-date=5 July 2022}}

{{AUSinttop}}

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north–west (Toowoomba Bypass) – Toowoomba (via Mort Street Interchange), Dalby, Goondiwindi

|notes=No entry to Warrego Highway westbound from Toowoomba Connection Road eastbound, and no entry to Toowoomba Connection Road westbound from Warrego Highway eastbound (except via a U-turn facility further east on the Warrego Highway)

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Hume Street – south – Centenary Heights

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Ruthven Street – north – North Toowoomba

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{{AUshield|S|85}} Anzac Avenue (State Route 85) – south–west – Athol
Anzac Avenue – north – Newtown

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– north–west – Dalby
{{AUshield|QLD|A39}} Gore Highway (National Highway A39) – south – Goondiwindi

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List of road routes in Queensland

{{reflist}}

{{Road infrastructure in Queensland}}

Category:Roads in Queensland

Category:Toowoomba