Bowen - Rockhampton via inland route

[Michael Greenslade]

Hi all,

 

On the way back from the Cairns trip I did last September, I did an inland journey from Bowen to Rockhampton to check out some areas I haven’t been to before and due to a lack of presence from Google Streetview. The route was as follows:

 

Bowen – Collinsville (Bowen Dev Road – State Route 77)

Collinsville – Glenden

Glenden – Moranbah

Moranbah – Dysart

Dysart – Middlemount

Middlemount – Dingo – Rockhampton (Fitzroy Dev Road & Capricorn Hwy)

 

I was particularly curious to find a route from Collinsville to Glenden via a bitumen road. Google, UBD & Explore Aust all suggest that the only way to connect the two towns is to use State Route 77 for 30km or so, and then endure 70km of windy unsealed til Glenden. The UBD & Explore Aust show a bitumen road from Glenden north-west to the Newlands Mine, but no further bitumen road linking the mine to the Bowen Developmental Road (and thus Collinsville). Ive been wondering for a while if there was a connecting road, however nothing shows up on any map source.

 

The other curiosity I had was to find a short-cut route from Glenden to Moranbah (preferably bitumen). Looking at Google and the UBD suggests that the best way to go is south-east from Glenden to join the Peak Downs Hwy, then south through Nebo and then south-west to Moranbah – totals 170km. Seems like a long way around. All 3 map sources mentioned above all show the bitumen road linking Moranbah with the Goonyella Mines – I hoped to find a way to link that road with the Suttor Dev Road as this would make the journey only 100km!

 

Otherwise, the rest of the journey was to see Dysart, Middlemount & the Fitzroy Dev Road (State Route 67). Here are the pics, starting from Bowen:

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Bowen-Bruce%20Hwy16.JPG

Directional signage on the Bruce Hwy for the start of the Bowen Developmental Rd – State Route 77 (although you may not know it!)

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Bowen-SR77-1.JPG

First distance sign on the Bowen Developmental Road. No route number, no road name, should have distances all the way out to Belyando Crossing (junction with Gregory Dev Road, being the A7).

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/SR77-3.JPG

Typical conditions, about 30km out of Bowen. The road isn’t too bad however there are no overtaking lanes, km posts/plates or any trailblazers.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/SR77-4.JPG

Conditions, southbound about 10km from Collinsville. The township is on the other side of the mountain in the distance.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Collinsville-SR77-1.JPG

Bowen Dev Road, northbound in Collinsville.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Collinsville-SR77-6.JPG

Southbound in Collinsville approaching the main junction in town. I actually had to consult the map (a rarity!) as I was expecting  Belyando Crossing as the next focal point (as it is a focal on the Gregory Dev Road). I hadn’t heard of Mt Coolon or Scottville so I didn’t know which way to go (gasp!). Great Scott.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Collinsville-Stanley%20St1.JPG

Southbound along the main street of Collinsville. As Google Streetview hasn’t been here, it was quite an occasion.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Collinsville-Stanley%20St3.JPG

Northbound along the main street, from the Bowen Dev Rad junction.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Collinsville-railway%20Rd2.JPG

The only black sign I found in town.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Collinsville-SR77-7.JPG

Northbound on Bowen Dev Road in Collinsville.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Collinsville-SR77-8.JPG

Southbound on Bowen Dev Road in Collinsville. Old school BP sign!

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Collinsville-SR77-12.JPG

Another quality distance sign installation on the Bowen Developmental Road, complete with route number, road name and appropriate focal points (NOT). We should have here as a minimum:

Glenden xx

Mt Coolon xx

Belyando Crossing xx

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/SR77-7.JPG

Typical conditions on the Bowen Dev Road, about 30km south of Collinsville. Moments later, I reached (read: drove straight past) the Glenden turnoff. As there was no signs from Collinsville, I used the trip meter in the car in order to know when I would reach the junction to commence the start of the 70km of gravel stretch. However, when I thought I had travelled the appropriate distance, I did note a T-junction and gravel road leading off, however there were NO signposts so I continued on. As the km passed, I started to wonder that my hunch of finding a road that linked the Newlands Mine with the Bowen Dev Road would not eventuate and that I would have to back track and use the gravel road. Just before all hope was lost, the following intersection greeted me…

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/SR77-8.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/SR77-9.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/SR77-10.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/SR77-11.JPG

Southbound AD, Northbound AD, ID and AD approaching Bowen Dev Road.

Finally some SR77 shields, finally some proper focals. Pity about the squishy design on some. The last sign is  good!

 

The new road connection to Glenden was a good find – I was glad I didn’t have to back track and I got a bitumen road all the way to Glenden! The new road passed to the west of the Newlands Mine, where the gravel road passed to the east of the mine. I hope Google et al update their maps soon as good quality connecting roads should not be kept secret!

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Newlands%20Access%20Rd1.JPG

Typical conditions southbound on the “new” connection road between SR77 and the Newlands Mine.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Newlands%20Access%20Rd3.JPG

Junction with the new connection road with the old Glenden-Newlands Mine Road. Facepalm – why would Collinsville be left from the panels showing the distances?? Entry to Newlands mine in the distance.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Newlands%20Access%20Rd5.JPG

Northern entrance to the Isaac Regional Council. Lucky I had my e-tag with me as the tunnel had a toll on it.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Glenden-Newlands%20Rd1.JPG

Approaching the Glenden turnoff.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Glenden-Newlands%20Rd2.JPG

The ID sign at the junction in the distance in the above pic. Yuck!

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Glenden-Newlands%20Rd3.JPG

Distance sign, northbound from Glenden on the Newlands Mine Road. Thank goodness Collinsville is on there, as from Glenden there is two ways to Collinsville – the nice easy, bitumen road which I took, or the gravel road.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Glenden-Newlands%20Rd4.JPG

ID at the Newlands Road / Unsealed Collinsville road junction (on the Glenden bypass). Note: No mention of Moranbah.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Glenden-Ewan%20Dr8.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Glenden-Shopping%20Precinct2.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Glenden-Ewan%20Dr3.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Glenden-Ewan%20Dr4.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Glenden-Shopping%20Precinct8.JPG

Photos from around Glenden. One of the newest mining towns Ive ever seen. Nice enough looking place – reminded me of driving around in Canberra suburbs!

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Glenden-Collinsville%20Elphinstone%20Rd1.JPG

AD sign, southbound from the southern Glenden turnoff junction.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Elphinstone-Suttor%20Dev%20Rd1.JPG

Approaching the Suttor Dev Road from Glenden. Note how Moranbah is “advertised” for all motorists at this junction with a supplementary plate. In accordance with the short-cut route to Moranbah, I turned right at this junction and followed the Suttor Dev Road. There was no distance sign westbound on the Suttor dev Road.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Suttor%20Dev%20Rd1.JPG

About 20km westbound along the Suttor Dev Road, this intersection was reached. There was no AD or distance signs in any direction – just this sole ID. I was flying along at 110km/hr and had to jam the brakes on in order to make this left hand turn to Moranbah.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Red%20Hill%20Rd1.JPG

As soon as I turned left into “Red Hill Road”, I was greeted with this. Now, Red Hill Road is a legitimate Road Reserve. Given that signs up until this point “advertised” this way to reach Moranbah, is this sign illegal? Nevertheless, I ignored the sign however several mining equipped cars passed me afterwards and waived/pointed at me as if I was not allowed on the road! Several of these signs were in place along the next 40km.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Red%20Hill%20Rd2.JPG

About 25km along Red Hill Road, this intersection was reached (photo looking northbound). I initially overshot the junction as the road continues straight on but stops shortly after as it enters North Goonyella mine. I back tracked to this junction and turned right. In the distance is another “No entry” sign.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Red%20Hill%20Rd3.JPG

Immediately after turning, this sign was in place. Although a standard federal govt road upgrade sign, this one says “Rolleston – Suttor Dev Road”. Looking at any map, its hard to find the link between where I am in this photo to Rolleston without taking some serious twists and turns. From here, the road was still bitumen although the quality degraded somewhat. It soon became evident that the road followed to the east of the Goonyella Mines.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Red%20Hill%20Rd4.JPG

There was a 5-10km stretch of gravel road to endure before Red Hill Road joined onto the bitumen Goonyella Road, which is the mine access road from Moranbah.

 

Goonyella Road was then followed into Moranbah.

Overall, this route should be much clearer in Google, UBD etc. It is definetly a much better option than taking the long road around through Nebo etc to reach Glenden. So much poor signage and the no entry signs need to be removed etc etc. It is indeed rare in Australia to have somewhat major roads not shown on maps!! This connection warrants proper signage at either end (Glenden and Moranbah/Peak Downs hwy). The job is half arsed done at the Glenden end, as shown with the pics, but there is absolutely nothing from the Moranbah end!

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Moranbah-Goonyella%20Rd10.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Moranbah-Mills%20Ave6.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Moranbah-Mills%20Ave7.JPG

Various photos around Moranbah. Not a lot of change since I was last there in 2005.

 

From Moranbah, I drove down and joined the Peak Downs Hwy briefly before heading south to Dysart.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Moranbah-Peak%20Downs%20Hwy11.JPG

Dysart road junction on the Peak Downs hwy.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Dysart%20Moranbah%20Rd1.JPG

Distance sign, southbound on the Dysart Road.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Dysart-Dysart%20Moranbah%20Rd1.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Dysart-garnham%20Dr1.JPG

Black signage on the northern outskirts of Dysart. All of the reflective lettering has come off the signs – horrible at night time!

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Dysart-Dysart%20Conn%20Rd1.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Dysart-Dysart%20Conn%20Rd2.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Dysart-Dysart%20Conn%20Rd5.JPG

Photos around Dysart. Another standard, albeit older mining town.

 

I continued south and reached the Middlemount-Tieri Road junction.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Middlemount%20Rd1.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Middlemount%20Rd2.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Middlemount%20Rd3.JPG

Photos from around the Dysart Rd & Tieri-Middlemount Rd junction. Two black signs still remain here!

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Middlemount-Middlemount%20Rd1.JPG

AD sign on approach to the ONLY road into Middlemount. Facepalm.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Middlemount-Centenary%20Dr1.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Middlemount-Centenary%20Dr4.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Middlemount-Howard%20Jones%20Ave2.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Middlemount-James%20Randell%20Dr.JPG

Photos from around Middlemount. Another standard mining town – probably a bit more modern than Dysart and Moranbah.

 

From Middlemount, I headed east briefly before reaching the Fitzroy Development Road (State Route 67) junction.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Middlemount-Fitzroy%20Dev%20Rd1.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Middlemount-Fitzroy%20Dev%20Rd2.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Middlemount-Fitzroy%20Dev%20Rd3.JPG

Photos from around this junction – note no route number. Also note that Middlemount is 11km from this junction. I turned south and headed towards Dingo.

 

A few km south, another junction was reached, this time with the May Downs Road, which links the Fitzroy Dev Road, with the Marlborough Sarina Road (Old Bruce Hwy).

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Fitzroy%20Dev%20Rd1.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Fitzroy%20Dev%20Rd2.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/May%20Downs%20Rd1.JPG

Photos from this intersection. One black distance sign remains on the May Downs Road. Again no route numbers.

 

The Fitzroy Dev Road is a very lonely road between the Capricorn & Peak Downs Hwy (ive heard anecdotally that the road is nicknamed “The Meat Road” – not sure why). While it links these two highways, the terrain is flat and pretty boring. There are no roadhouses or anything of note for its length. As you head south along the Fitzroy Dev Road, the km plates reference D = Dingo (south) and M = Middlemount (north). Looking back northbound, there are several “services” signs that heavily promote motorists to take a break and drive the 11km off the road into Middlemount. With the lack of services along this route, its no wonder why however 11km is a fair deviation! I guess you can compare with Broome and Derby on NH1 to some degree, but at least roadhouses are on the significant junctions in that case.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Fitzroy%20Dev%20Rd3.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Fitzroy%20Dev%20Rd5.JPG

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Fitzroy%20Dev%20Rd6.JPG

Photos of the km plates along the Fitzroy Dev Road.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Dingo-Fitzroy%20Dev%20Rd1.JPG

Northbound distance sign at Dingo for the Fitzroy Dev Road.

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Dingo-Fitzroy%20Dev%20Rd2.JPG

Old black sign in Dingo

 

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~krool/photos/Temp/Dingo-Capricorn%20Hwy1.JPG

AD eastbound on Capricorn hwy for the Fitzroy Dev Road in Dingo.

 

Hope you all enjoyed the pics. It was a great day exploring!

 

Cheers,

Michael

 

[Sam Laybutt]

MG - fantastic post! Love it! This is an area I've long wanted to explore, made even more 'exotic' by it not being on GSV. Your photos have also helped confirm my suspicions that SR77 and SR67 are only signed at one or two junctions 

That fingerboard on SR77 is surprisingly good - looks like it came fresh out of NSW. The rest of the signs...well, erm...lets just say its typical of what you'd find on Council-controlled roads in NSW and on many roads in QLD :)

I'm very glad you managed to get those black signs before their demise. Really liked them. 

Also, the mining towns look a lot better than what I've seen thus far in WA. Certainly a lot better than Wickham or Roebourne, although some parts of Karratha are reasonably well kept.

Suttor Dev Road was allocated SR11 but as you showed is still not signed. 

There's not much info around on that "Rolleston to Suttor Dev Road" project but I think it goes Rolleston-Blackwater-Moranbah-Suttor Dev Road (via Red Hill/Goonyella roads) with a few twists an turns along the way. 

I would say that your deviation around the Newlands Mine was built by the mining company which might explain why mappers are slow to update. I doubt they were informed and we know how little actual fieldwork they do these days...

Once again, great stuff. 

---

From: m.gree...@goodwinmidson.com.au
To: aussie-...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [Aussie Highways] Bowen - Rockhampton via inland route
Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:34:29 +1000

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[Paul Rands]

Excellent photos as usual. Some nice finds too.

The company I work for has an office in Collinsville, so it was particularly interesting to see the place.

Sad to see so many missing route numbers.

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Paul Rands
paul...@me.com

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