Fitzroy Developmental Road

The Fitzroy Developmental Road is a designated road in the Central Highlands Region of Queensland consisting of three separate sections. The general direction is from south to north. It is nicknamed the Beef Road.^[1]

Fitzroy Developmental Road Queensland
Fitzroy Developmental Road (green and black)
General information
Type	Rural road
Length	454 km (282 mi)
Route number(s)	State Route 7 Taroom - Rhydding Bauhinia - Duaringa State Route 67 Dingo - Strathfield
Major junctions
South end	Leichhardt Highway Taroom
	Dawson Highway (State Route 60) Capricorn Highway (State Highway A4)
North end	State Route 70 (Peak Downs Highway) Strathfield
Location(s)
Major settlements	Rhydding, Bauhinia, Duaringa, Dingo

Route description

Southern section

The southern section leaves the Leichhardt Highway at a point 17 kilometres (11 mi) north of Taroom as State Route 7. This section meets the Dawson Highway in the locality of Rhydding, 19 kilometres (12 mi) east of Bauhinia.

Middle section

The middle section, as State Route 7, runs from Bauhinia north until it meets the Capricorn Highway about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of Duaringa, and 29 kilometres (18 mi) east of Dingo. It passes through the Dawson Range State Forest between Woorabinda and Duaringa.

Northern section

The northern section, as State Route 67, runs from Dingo to a point on the Peak Downs Highway in the locality of Strathfield, 21 kilometres (13 mi) east of Coppabella.^[2] It crosses the Mackenzie River and passes the mining towns of Middlemount and Dysart.

Length details

The southern section is 115 kilometres (71 mi) in length, and is mostly unsealed.

The middle section is 103 kilometres (64 mi) in length and is partly sealed.

The northern section is 236 kilometres (147 mi) in length and is fully sealed.^[3] The length of the three sections totals 454 kilometres (282 mi) but with the addition of travel on the Dawson and Capricorn Highways, it is around 502 kilometres (312 mi).

Road details

All sections are state-controlled roads. The southern and middle sections (numbers 85A and 85B) are district roads rated as local roads of regional significance (LRRS). The northern section (number 85C) is a regional road.^[4]

Upgrades

Unsealed section in Goomally, 2024

Progressive sealing

A project to progressively seal sections of the road north of Bauhinia, at a cost of $6 million, was expected to complete by early 2022.^[5]

A project to progressively seal sections of the road north of Taroom, at a cost of $8 million, was expected to complete in mid-2022.^[6]

Major intersections

LGA	Location	km[7]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Banana	Taroom	0	0.0	Leichhardt Highway – north–east – Theodore / south – Taroom	Southern end of southern section of Fitzroy Developmental Road (State Route 7) This section is shown as Taroom Bauhinia Downs Road on Google maps.
Central Highlands	Rhydding	115	71	Dawson Highway – west – Bauhinia / east – Banana	T junction. Northern end of southern section. Eastern concurrency terminus with Dawson Highway. Traffic for Fitzroy Developmental Road continues west on Dawson Highway.
	Bauhinia	134	83	Dawson Highway – south–west – Rolleston	Y intersection. Western concurrency terminus with Dawson Highway. Southern end of middle section of Fitzroy Developmental Road, which continues north.
	Duaringa	237	147	Capricorn Highway – west – Dingo / east – Duaringa	T junction. Northern end of middle section and of State Route 7. Eastern concurrency terminus with Capricorn Highway. Traffic for Fitzroy Developmental Road continues west on Capricorn Highway.
	Dingo	266	165	Capricorn Highway – west – Bluff	T junction. Western concurrency terminus with Capricorn Highway.
					Southern end of northern section of Fitzroy Developmental Road, which continues north as State Route 67.
Isaac	Strathfield	502	312	Peak Downs Highway – west – Clermont / east – Nebo	T junction. Northern end of Fitzroy Developmental Road (State Route 67)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Route transition

See also

• Australian Roads portal
• Queensland portal

• Highways in Australia
• List of highways in Queensland