TMR extends Kuranda Range Road night work timeline

Coinciding with the first downpour of the wet season the state traffic authority has announced a delayed end to reconstruction work of the beleaguered Kuranda Range Road.

Traffic delayed at the Streets Creek roadworks site on the Kuranda Range this week. Picture: Mark Riley

Coinciding with the first downpour of the wet season the state traffic authority has announced a delayed end to reconstruction work of the beleaguered Kuranda Range Road.

On Friday as Cairns copped a snap morning deluge the Department of Transport and Main Roads extended night work closures at Streets Creek and the Henry Ross Lookout.

Full night closures of the range road between were due to end on December 6 in order to fix the two trouble spots that were badly damaged by heavy rain in the aftermath of Cyclone Jasper last year.

Heavy seasonal rain caused landslides on the Kuranda Range Rd in December 2023. Picture: Queensland Trucking

The two pinch points on the notorious mountain road have been reduced to single lane operation for eleven months at a reported cost of $26,000 a day.

Unable to finalise works within the estimated timeline, lane closure dates have now been extended until 4am on Friday December 20 to allow the completion of additional works prior to Christmas.

For this period of work the road will continue to remain open on Friday and Saturday nights.

Kuranda resident Mark Riley said regardless of an 11 month delay to a permanent road fix most were at last glad to see heavy machinery and road crews at work on the range.

But weeks away from the one year anniversary of the historic deluge that caused landslides and destruction of the roadway, Mr Riley said the big issue largely ignored by government was an alternate Tablelands access route.

Mobile traffic lights have been in operation at the Streets Creek crossing since December 2023 when landslides damaged the road. Picture: Peter Carruthers

“If we have another huge storm and the road slides down the mountain they are not even looking at any future alternatives which they need to plan and get underway now,” he said.

“What’s going to happen if the road slides down the mountain and is fully closed for who knows how long?

“They don’t even know where they’re going to build alternative route, they’ve already said the range road is not going to be at capacity until 2051 which to anybody paying attention is just (not true.)”

Motorists have been advised by TMR that beginning on Sunday there will be changes to traffic moving through the Kuranda Range road work sites.

While the road will be closed between 9pm and 4am traffic will be let through at midnight from both top and bottom of the range.

Road users must be in the queue by 12pm as traffic will only be let through once in each direction for as long as it takes to clear the queued vehicles, then the road will close again until 4am.

The range will be open to a single lane under traffic control over the Christmas period.

On the topic of Far North road safety Kennedy MP Bob Katter demanded urgent road upgrades following a series of fatal traffic crashes.

Though there has been no recent deaths on the Kuranda road the firebrand MP revealed plans for a regional road crisis conference in the wake of the latest fatality that claimed the life of 18-year-old Daimon Pyne on November 27.

“The whole of FNQ are beginning to rise up in rage,” Mr Katter said.

“We are seeing fatal accidents every three-to-four weeks now and the government, 2000km away, couldn’t care less.”

Mr Katter said discussions with RACQ about the state of the Bruce Highway have taken place and there were plans in place for a slow convoy from Brisbane to Cairns next year.

So far according to TMR data 25 people have lost their lives on Far North roads this year. Statewide to November 17 there was 265 fatalities as a result of crashes within Queensland.

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Originally published as TMR extends Kuranda Range Road night work timeline