Road Photos & Information: Queensland: Alphanumeric Routes

Intersection directional sign at the corner of Bruce Highway (A1) and Wide Bay Highway (SR49) at Bells Bridge. October 2010. Image © Rob Tilley

Planning for an alphanumeric route marking system goes back to 1997, when all the States and Territories agreed to convert to alphanumeric style route marking, in order to have a nationally consistent route marking scheme. The first alphanumeric route for Queensland was M1. This was implemented in September 2000, with the upgrade of the Pacific Motorway between Eight Mile Plains and Tugun.

Here's a run down of alphanumeric routes in Brisbane metropolitan area:

• September 2000: Metroad 1 was decommissioned in favour of M1, which covers the Pacific Motorway from Tugun to Eight Mile Plains and also the Gateway Motorway from Eight Mile Plains to Bald Hills. 
• 2005: M1 was extended to take in the Bruce Highway from Bald Hills to Cooroy. 
• October 2006: Metroad 5 between Ipswich Motorway and Toowing was replaced with M5. 1
• June 2008: Signs showing M2 along Logan Motorway installed initially installed at Browns Plains, replacing Metroad 4, with sign rollout along the Logan Motorway and Gateway Motorway between Drewvale and Goodna, completed by March 2009. 2
• August 2008: Signage along Metroad 3 (Pacific Motorway from Eight Mile Plains to Coronation Drive Brisbane) was replaced with signs bearing M3. 1 
• November 2008: Metroad 2 (Ipswich Motorway) was replaced with M2 west of the Gailes interchange. Metroad 2 from the Logan Motorway interchange to Granard Road renumbered to M7, and Ipswich Road renumbered A7. 2
• December 2008: Completion of M3 signage rollout along Pacific Mwy from Eight Mile Plains to Coronation Dr in Brisbane. Metroad 3 has also been elimnated, replaced with M3  from Bowen Hills to Bald Hills, with A3 used on the non-freeway standard sections. 2

Below are the various routes this site has photos of. The routes are sorted by their route number, not their classification.

Route Number:	Description:	Preview:
	M1/A1 (NSW Border to Cairns): Pacific Motorway, Gateway Motorway and Bruce Highway
	M/A2 (Eight Mile Plains to NT Border): Gateway Motorway, Logan Motorway, Ipswich Motorway, Warrego Highway, Landsborough Highway and Barkly Highway
	ALT-A2 (Morven to Augathella): Warrego Highway & Mitchell Highway
	M/A3 (Eight Mile Plains to Bald Hills): Pacific Motorway, Coronation Drive, Hale Street, Inner City Bypass, Gympie Road and Gympie Arterial Road
	A3 (Darling Downs to Rockhampton): New England Highway, D'Aguilar Highway & Burnett Highway
	M/A5 (Toowong to Darra): Centenary Highway and Western Freeway
	A6 (Townsville to Cloncurry): Flinders Highway
	A39 (NSW Border to Toowoomba): Cunningham Highway, Leichhardt Highway and Gore Highway
	A55 (NSW Border to Roma): Castlereagh Highway and Carnarvon Highway
	A71 (NSW Border to Charleville): Mitchell Highway

1 Michael Greenslade
2 Trent Thomson