Новоанглийское шоссе: История и современное состояние

Highway in New South Wales and Queensland
the New England Highway in Australia

New England Highway is an long

At its northern end New England Highway connects to D'Aguilar Highway, and at its southern end it connects to Pacific Highway. It traverses the Darling Downs, New England, and Hunter Valley regions. During the winter months, some parts of the New England Highway are subject to frost and snowfall, with the 350 km section from the Moonbi Ranges to Stanthorpe located at high altitudes.

In 2013–14, the New England and Cunningham Highways combined (known as the Sydney–Brisbane inland route) had an average annual daily traffic count of just over 13,000 vehicles, which is approximately half that seen on the coastal route (i. e., the Pacific Highway and Pacific Motorway). Average speed enforcement (point to point) cameras target heavy vehicles between Singleton and Muswellbrook.

New England Highway has its origins in the track which developed north from Newcastle to reach the prime wool growing areas of the New England region which Europeans settled following expeditions by NSW Surveyor General John Oxley in 1818 and botanist Allan Cunningham in 1827 and 1829. The rough track, navigable only by horse or bullock dray, crossed the Liverpool Range, went through Tamworth and ended at Tenterfield. The track became known as the Great Northern Road. During the 1860s, several robberies occurred along the road, with infamous bushranger Captain Thunderbolt known to be active in the area. The passing of the Main Roads Act of 1924 through the Parliament of New South Wales provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (later the Department of Main Roads, and eventually Transport for NSW). Great Northern Highway was declared (as Main Road No. 9) on 8 August 1928, replacing the Great Northern Road and running from North Sydney via Hornsby, Peat's Ferry, Gosford, Swansea, Newcastle, Maitland, Singleton, Tamworth, Armidale, Glen Innes, Tenterfield and Woodenbong to the border with Queensland; to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, this was amended to State Highway 9 on 8 April 1929. The section of Great Northern Highway between Sydney and Hexham was subsumed into Pacific Highway on 26 May 1931; the southern end of Great Northern Highway was truncated at the intersection with Pacific Highway at Hexham as a result. The remaining portion from Hexham to Brisbane was later renamed New England Highway, through Queensland on 14 February 1933, and a month later through New South Wales on 14 March 1933. In 1936 the road was described by contemporary observers as being in good condition, with spectacular scenery and excellent accommodation en route. The Department of Main Roads, which had succeeded the New South Wales MRB in 1932, declared Main Road 374 on 16 March 1938, from the intersection with Tenterfield Yetman Road (later Bruxner Highway) just north of Tenterfield to the state border with Queensland at Wallangarra; this was replaced with the declaration of State Highway 24 along the same route on 11 January 1950. New England Highway was re routed through Warwick along the route that was then known in Queensland as the Lockyer Darling Downs Highway on 11 August 1954, with the new alignment of State Highway 9 subsuming State Highway 24 in New South Wales. Against the wishes of the Beaudesert Shire Council and the Woodenbong Chamber of Commerce, the former alignment of New England Highway through Beaudesert was renamed Mount Lindesay Highway,). In the 1970s, the Queensland Main Roads Department rerouted the designation of the New England Highway north of Warwick to follow the former Lockyer Darling Downs Highway (national route 17) so that it terminated in Toowoomba. The section of the highway between Brisbane and Warwick was renamed as part of Cunningham Highway, which until that time had extended only westward from Warwick to Goondiwindi. The passing of the Roads Act of 1993 through the Parliament of New South Wales updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, New England Highway today retains its declaration as Highway 9, from Hexham to the state border with Queensland. New England Highway was signed National Route 15 from Warwick to Hexham in 1955. The Whitlam government introduced the federal National Roads Act 1974, where roads declared as a National Highway were still the responsibility of the states for road construction and maintenance, but were fully compensated by the Federal government for money spent on approved projects. With Hunter Expressway opening a year later in 2014, route A15 was modified to route M15 and rerouted along it east of Branxton, and route A43 was extended westwards from Hexham along New England Highway to replace it, retaining a concurrency with route A1 between Beresfield and Hexham.

The Scone Bypass was opened in March 2020. In addition to bypassing the town centre, it also replaces the last railway level crossing on the New England Highway.

The New England Highway upgrade and rail bridge replacement at Singleton (known as Gowrie Gates) was opened in July 2019. This upgrade is not part of the proposed Singleton bypass.

The Roads of Strategic Importance initiative, last updated in March 2022, includes the following projects for the New England Highway in Queensland.

A project to upgrade the New England Highway at Cabarlah, at an estimated cost of $5 million, was in planning at March 2022.

A project to develop supporting road infrastructure for the Emu Swamp Dam, adjacent to the New England Highway at Stanthorpe, at a cost of $6.3 million is planned to be completed by mid 2023.

A project to upgrade the intersection with the Cunningham Highway east of Warwick, at a cost of $25 million, was due for completion in August 2022.

Two projects to develop business cases for improvements to the highway south of Toowoomba, at a cost of $650,000, were to be completed by March 2022.

A project to improve safety between Stanthorpe and Ballandean, at a cost of $19.4 million, was ongoing in July 2022.

A project to construct turning lanes at Cabarlah, at a cost of $600,000, was in the planning stage in July 2022.

A project to plan for upgrades between Warwick and Stanthorpe, at a coat of $450,000, was completed in October 2021.

A project to deliver widened pavement near Cooyar, at a cost of $24.576 million, was to finish by July 2022.