It provides access from the coastal plain, just 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) wide in this area, to the Paluma Range, which rises some 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above the Big Crystal Creek floodplain.

The concrete arch bridge over Little Crystal Creek is a prominent feature of the landscape in this area, and is located about halfway along the Mount Spec Road.

The bridge is a very common subject for photography by locals and visitors, and Little Crystal Creek is one of the most popular natural destinations for residents of the city of Townsville.

[1] Lobbying to build the Mount Spec Road took place over some 30 or so years, against a background of philosophical ideas of "progress" and "settlement" and the need for access to the areas west of Paluma for tin miners, timber cutters and farmers ("farmers access roads"), to the Paluma/Crystal Creek area itself for tourists and as a water supply for Townsville.

This lobbying and the prolonged debate over the eventual location and construction of the road were also linked with the need to preserve features of the natural landscape.

The Paluma Range area had been promoted for tourism and as a health resort from as early as 1902, when a correspondent from the North Queensland Herald visited the Mount Spec tin mines.

The North Queensland Register of 28 July 1913 suggested that a township be gazetted at Cloudy Clearing, the original name for the site of Paluma, that a sanitarium be established in the ranges, and that "the scrub" be protected.

Mount Spec had become a popular weekend destination for visitors from Townsville and Ingham after World War I, and a series of "ranches" and guesthouses had appeared long before the road was constructed.

[1] The newly formed Main Roads Board and subsequent Commission were anxious to make a mark, a factor exploited by the various lobby groups around Townsville.

[1] The construction of the Mount Spec Road finally came down to the State Government's need to deliver unemployment relief during the Great Depression and to provide quick scenic access to the proposed township at Cloudy Clearing in the ranges, for which Townsville branches of the Country and Progressive National Party had lobbied the Minister for Lands in 1931.

There was otherwise mixed support for the road and its perceived benefits compared to its potential costs, particularly following the release of the Report of the Royal Commission on the Development of North Queensland in 1931.

Furthermore, tin mining was suffering a downturn, and the possibilities for farming on the tableland around Mount Spec that had been promoted by the Townsville and District Development Association were not readily apparent, with the only evidence that it was viable being fruits and vegetables grown in miners' clearings.

In November 1930, construction of the Mount Spec Road began with the clearing of about 5 miles (8.0 km) of track from the railway line to the base of the Paluma Range.

Initially, the only mechanical aids were a few trucks, two tractors and two air compressors, with cuttings being blasted through the granite with gelignite and most work being done with picks and shovels.

Another innovation was the establishment of a "motor camp" at Paluma in 1937, possibly the first motel in Australia, which continued to be managed by Main Roads for another twenty years.

On 8 June 1931, the District Engineer Townsville had written to the Secretary Main Roads Commission in Brisbane that "from the aesthetic point of view a masonry arch should be considered, as it would harmonise with a rather picturesque spot."

Wages for the stonemasons and "too much work dressing stone", as noted by the District Engineer Townsville in June 1933, contributed to the excessive cost of the bridge.

[1] The Mount Spec Road, Crystal Creek stretches approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi) from its junction with the old Bruce Highway to the western outskirts of Paluma, north Queensland.

There is a large interpretive historical sign, including photographs, which was erected by Thuringowa City Council and Queensland Parks and Wildlife.

Although a large part of the original dry stone wall in this location was removed during development of the car park, some sections still remain within the road reserve.

[1] There are several smaller concrete arch culverts, similar in construction to the bridge over Little Crystal Creek, and sections of dry stone walling (battering) and stone-paved gutters at various points along the full length of the road.

[1] Mount Spec Road and Little Crystal Creek Bridge was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 30 October 2008 having satisfied the following criteria.

Mount Spec Road, which stretches approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi) from its junction with the old Bruce Highway to the western outskirts of Paluma and includes the concrete arch bridge over Little Crystal Creek, is important in demonstrating the evolution and pattern of North Queensland's history.

[1] The place is also important in demonstrating transport and communication patterns in North Queensland, and in particular the opening up of the Paluma Range to tourists, tin miners, timber cutters and farmers.

Mount Spec Road remains substantially intact throughout the 18 kilometres (11 mi) of its length and demonstrates an extensive and now uncommon use of concrete arch culverts, dry stone walling and stone-paved gutters.

The concrete arch bridge over Little Crystal Creek is an aesthetically pleasing design in a picturesque location along the Mount Spec Road.

The bridge spans the Little Crystal Creek gorge in the Paluma Range National Park, and has become representative of this scenic part of the landscape, being a very prominent feature commonly photographed by locals and visitors.