Road Photos & Information: Queensland

Western Freeway and Centenary Highway (M5 / A5)

Statistics:

• Length: 44 km
• Northern Terminus: Miskin Street, Milton Road (SR32) and Frederick Street (Metroad 5) at Toowong
• Southern Terminus: Cunningham Highway (NH15) and Ipswich-Boonah Road (SR93) at Purga / Yamanto
• Suburbs, Towns & Localities Along The Route: Deebing Heights, South Ripley, White Rock, Springfield Central, Springfield, Springfield Lakes, Ellen Grove, Carole Park, Richlands, Darra, Sumner, Mt Ommaney, Seventeen Mile Rocks, Jindalee, Sinnamon Park, Kenmore, Fig Tree Pocket, Indooroopilly,  Mt Coot-tha and Toowong

Route Numbering:

• Current:  
• Former:  
• Road Authority Internal Classification: U18A (Centenary Hwy from Jindalee to Ellen Grove) and U18B (Centenary Hwy and Western Fwy from Jindalee to Toowong) 1

General Information:

• Western Freeway:

Western Freeway is Queensland's first ever freeway, and is 5 km long and began life in the late 1960s as a single carriageway (stage 1) between Mt Coot-tha Road and Taringa Parade. 2

• Centenary Highway:

The Centenary Highway is a limited access road in the western suburbs of Brisbane. The M5 section of the route is 21 kilometres in length and starts at Springfield Central at the interchange with Augusta Parkway and Sinnathamby Boulevard to eventually join up with the Western Freeway. West of the interchange, the Centenary Highway is numbered A5 to the interchange with the Cunningham Highway (NH15) and Ipswich-Boonah Road (SR93), a distance of 18 km.

History:

• 1960s: The Centenary Bridge and Centenary Highway, linking Moggill Road at Indooroopilly to Ipswich Road at Darra, had been built with financial contributions from the developers of the new suburbs from Jindalee south. 3
• 1969: Western Freeway opens to traffic. 2 This was constructed by Brisbane City Council and acted as a link from Mt Coot-tha Road to Taringa Parade at Indooroopilly. 3
• 1979: Main Roads completed the controlled access roadway to connect from the section council had built through to the Centenary Bridge, a project involving six grade-separated interchanges. 3
• 1995: Metroad 5 route number introduced, SR32 decommissioned along the Metroad 5 routing. 4
• January 2005: Construction begins on the Springfield interchange.
• June 2006: Springfield interchange opens to traffic.
• October 2006: Metroad 5 decommissioned on Centenary Highway (between Darra and Kenmore) and Western Freeway, and was replaced by M5. 5
• December 2006: Construction begins on the Springfield to Ripley section of Centenary Highway as a single carriagway with 1 lane in each direction. 6
• October 2006: Construction begins on the South Deebing to Puga and Yamanto section of Centenary Highway. 6
• December 2007: Construction begins on the Ripley to South Deebing section of Centenary Highway. 6
• July 2008: Work has commenced to construct a cycle and pedestrian overpass over the Western Freeway near the Toowong Roundabout linking Mt Coot-tha Road to the Western Freeway Bikeway. 7
• 2008: Duplication and extension commences of Centenary Highway south of the Ipswich Motorway interchange at Darra. 8
• March 2009: Improvement works along Centenary Highway between Jindalee and Indooroopilly, which included installing guardrail, installing reflective road markings, upgrades to signage and placement of mesh fencing. 9
• 29 May 2009: Upgrades commence on the Sumner Road interchange on the Centenary Highway at Sumner. 10

1 Main Roads Queensland State Road Network Map
2 Sam Laybutt (Ozroads)
3 Queensland Roads, March 2009
4 Lachlan Sims
5 Michael Greenslade
6 Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Centenary Highway Extension: Springfield to Yamanto Web Site
7 Queensland Transport Projects & Initiatives Web Site
8 Main Roads Centenary Hwy Upgrade and Extension Web Site
9 Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads Media Release - Jindalee to Indooroopilly Safety Works, March 2009
10 Brisbane City Council Traffic Updates Web Site