New England Highway (Toowoomba - Warwick), high risk roads, improve safety
Construction is underway to improve safety on Ruthven Street in Toowoomba's south.
This project involves delivering high-benefit, low-cost treatments to improve safety for all road users on the New England Highway at Ruthven Street, a north-south arterial road through Toowoomba.
Treatments include new turning lanes and traffic lights, upgraded traffic signals, changed linemarking to reduce right turn movements and restrict on-street parking, speed limit reduction, new raised pedestrian crossings, a new bike lane, additional warning signs and removal of roadside hazards.
Benefits
- Improves safety
- Increases capacity
- Improves network efficiency
- Increases traffic flow
- Reduces peak hour congestion
- Accessibility
- Reduces travel time
- Better active transport
- Reduces maintenance
Key features
- Additional dedicated turning lanes to improve traffic flow.
- Improved safety for bike riders by extending the southbound bike lane to north of Stenner Street.
- Restricting right turn movements, including removal of filtered right turns at signalised intersections.
- Removing roadside hazards to improve sight distance.
- Reducing on-street carparks to allow for extra lanes and a new intersection.
- Improved pedestrian facilities including crossings, warning signs, smart crossings and signal phasing at intersections to improve safety.
- New traffic signals at Donahue Street intersection.
Funding
The project is fully funded by the Queensland Government through the Targeted Road Safety Program. Investment ID 1778166
- Total investment
- $13.2 million
- Queensland Government
- $13.2 million
Current status
Detailed design was completed in September 2022. Construction started in July 2023 and is scheduled to be completed in May 2024, weather and conditions permitting.