Social Recreation: A Trip down Toowoomba bypass

On Friday 10 January 2020, Clubhouse members enjoyed a Social Recreation afternoon adventure. The following account is written by member Julian Mudge who joined us on the day.

I choose to start my story at the petrol station at which we staged, awaiting the arrival of the last members of our party to venture down the range in his own vehicle. For some time our Toowoomba Regional Council and the Federal Government has been constructing the now famous Toowoomba bypass also known as the Second Range Crossing. We found ourselves tasked exploring this in a convoy of 2 vehicles. The second vehicle arrived, so we set out.

A brief note on road quality: regrettably I can confirm rumours heard from truckies suggesting that perhaps a better surface might have been chosen on the downhill side (and many will suggest the uphill side….). Our bus was caught bumping over what reminded me of Ipswich road many years ago, prior to its many upgrades since it was constructed in WWII from concrete slabs. There was a regular gap between the ‘slabs’ to allow for heat expansion.

Taking the photos displayed here from a rear bus window, I came to appreciate much of the architecture supporting the road, as well as many of the erosion defying walls that embraced it. I was impressed with the artistry of these impositions.

We followed the road down to that point at which the bus could be turned around, and then we retraced our path back out past Cotswold Hills and made our way out to the Toowoomba Wellcamp airport for a sticky beak. We paused for some minutes here to appreciate this new installation, and now much later I fail to explain why I did not take a photo.