Cairns roads: Maintenance backlog revealed as Kuranda fix goes waiting
A road maintenance backlog is piling up as momentum builds behind a push to take the highway between Cairns and Mareeba off the State Government’s hands.
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A STAGGERING road maintenance backlog is piling up as momentum builds behind a push to take the highway between Cairns and Mareeba off the state government’s hands.
Transport Minister Mark Bailey revealed the North Queensland road upkeep mountain had reached $902m despite the Auditor-General warning “the condition of roads is declining, causing an increased safety risk” four years ago.
Answering a question on notice, Mr Bailey blamed the Federal Government for slashing the state’s National Land Transport Network (NLTN) maintenance allocation by $10.88m over the forward estimates in its 2021 budget.
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However, Opposition transport spokesman Steve Minnikin said the blame lay squarely with the Palaszczuk Government.
“They’ve done nothing and the problem continues to get worse,” he said.
The fight follows Advance Cairns’ call for the State Government relinquish control of the road between Cairns and Mareeba to the Federal Government in a move similar to one that secured Commonwealth funding for the Cairns Ring Road in 2019.
Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said he made the same request three years ago but was ignored.
“I formally requested from the minister that they nominate the Kuranda Range as a road of strategic importance at the same time I requested the expansion of the national highway from Aumuller St through to the Caravonica roundabout,” he said.
“Until such time that they do, there will be no federal funding.”
Mr Entsch did not believe a second Kuranda Range crossing was the final answer but said building a road along the old bridle track at Davies Creek had potential.
Mr Bailey said $45m of safety upgrades were already under way along more than 31km of the Kennedy Highway between Kuranda and Mareeba.
“We’d happily look at any proper proposal but I’m yet to see anything from Mr Entsch,” he said.
“The Department of Transport and Main Roads is undertaking a $1.6 million planning project which will inform future decisions on improved access between Cairns and the Northern Tablelands.
“The Kuranda Range section of the Kennedy Highway is being considered as part of that study, but the scope of the project is much broader and will look at Palmerston Highway, Gillies Range Road, Mossman-Mt Molloy Road and other alternatives too.”
Mr Bailey added a “major hi-tech” Intelligent Transport System upgrade to the Kuranda Range was also under way, to introduce variable speed limit signs and real-time travel information.
“An evaluation by ARRB Research in 2018 found motorists experienced an almost 50 per cent drop in rear-end casualty crashes when ITS stations were installed, so this will improve safety on the range,” he said.
Originally published as Cairns roads: Maintenance backlog revealed as Kuranda fix goes waiting
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