$50m transport hub gets go-ahead
A MULTI-MILLION dollar transport hub just 12 kilometres from the Toowoomba CBD could fast-track the region’s produce to the rest of the world.
Plans have been revealed for a mammoth development on Steger Rd in Charlton that will connect road trains with rail and air transport for producers looking to get their products across the country and beyond.
It’s close proximity to the Interlink inland rail site and Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport was highlighted as a key factor for the developers, who believe it will speed up the process of getting produce from the Darling Downs to Australian and international customers.
“The general plan is that we will have a major freight terminal for transporting road trains and unloading and forwarding their loads,” SW O’Brien Holdings project manager Bob Callander said.
“We’ll have a connection set up where they will be able to access Interlink which is just down the road.
“For farm produce getting out, it will be handled and dispatched there working with Interlink because the two just marry each other. The location of Toowoomba is perfect because of the airlines you’ve got there and where it can go out to.”
A development application signed off by Toowoomba Regional Council last Tuesday was the final green tick needed after a five-year battle to get the $50 million project off the ground.
The site will also house a range of fast food outlets and offices and is set to bring 100 jobs to the region once the construction is completed, according to Mr Callander, who has been involved in the application process since 2012.
The Toowoomba Transport Terminal, which is being floated as a potential name for the project, will occupy both sides of Steger Rd and also includes a vehicle maintenance workshop.
“Toowoomba is becoming a major inland terminal, Toowoomba is a natural base,” he said.
“The Inland rail is fantastic and it is making all this possible. One compliments the other.”
Construction has yet to start at the vacant lot.