Cunningham Highway (Ipswich - Warwick), Eight Mile intersection upgrade
A major intersection upgrade to improve safety at the Cunningham and New England highways intersection is complete.
The Eight Mile intersection is a significant crossroad located 8 miles (or 12.87km) north of Warwick where the Cunningham and New England highways meet. It is a major rural intersection for traffic between Brisbane, Warwick and Toowoomba.
To improve safety, the project involved building an overpass over the Cunningham Highway for motorists travelling south on the New England Highway from Toowoomba to Warwick. Other traffic movements at the intersection remain at ground level. Traffic on the Cunningham Highway travels underneath the overpass. Safety and efficiency have significantly improved at the intersection.
Benefits
- Returns local roads
- Improves safety
- Increases capacity
- Improves network efficiency
- Increases traffic flow
- Reduces travel time
- Contributes to regional growth
- Reduces maintenance
- Improves ride quality
- Contributes to economy
Key features
- Single lane overpass for southbound traffic on the New England Highway travelling from Toowoomba to Warwick.
- Bridge clearances of 6.1m on the Brisbane-bound carriageway and 7.1m on the Warwick-bound carriageway to provide for over-dimensioned vehicles.
- Construction of 1.5km of new roadway to allow for approaches to the overpass and a new Toowoomba to Brisbane exit/merge lane.
- Installation of 2 new culvert structures to assist with site drainage.
- Installation of new lighting and improvements to existing lighting using LED luminaires.
- Installation of a new traffic monitoring camera.
Funding
This project was jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments on an 80:20 (federal:state) basis as part of the National Land Transport Network Upgrade program. Investment ID 1248007
- Total investment
- $25 million
- Australian Government
- $20 million
- Queensland Government
- $5 million
Current status
Construction on the intersection started in February 2021 and was completed in November 2022.
Eight Mile intersection project map
Project update
The project achieved a major milestone in March 2022 when crews successfully positioned 10 super T girders to create the platform for the new overpass. A 500t wheel track crane was used to carefully place the girders, each weighing between 75–85t and measuring over 1.8m high and 33m long. Works were undertaken overnight to minimise the disruption to traffic at this major intersection of the 2 highways. This major project milestone was achieved during a declared extreme weather event, which saw many road closures across South East Queensland and Northern NSW.
A super T girder being lowered into place for the overpass at Eight Mile intersection (March 2022)
