Fix our broken link: Cook MP Cynthia Lui labels Kuranda Range as ‘safest road’

An experienced local geologist has proposed his Kuranda Range alternative to a state MP who is welcoming public ideas, while his fellow state rep was slammed for labelling the road as “safe”.

A FAR Northern MP who labelled a controversial highway as one of the safest she’s travelled has received a barrage of comments following her declaration, which included taking aim at a motorist.

Cook MP Cynthia Lui shared on her social media page details about a close call where she was reportedly almost “wiped out by a truck” while driving on the Kuranda Range section of the Kennedy Hwy.

“My staff member and I almost got wiped out by a truck driving so recklessly down the Kuranda Range,” Ms Lui’s post read.

The incident comes about a month after the launch of the Cairns Post’s Fix our broken link campaign which is pushing for a desperately-needed road map to solve traffic chaos on the Kuranda range.

However, Ms Lui in her post stood by the condition of the road itself, while expressing her concerns about driver behaviour.

“Before anyone starts up about the road, it is one of the safest road I have driven on. There is a real problem though if you are travelling more than the required speed limit and while turning a curve, move into the lane of oncoming traffic,” her post continued.

While many of Ms Lui’s followers agreed with her point about poor driver behaviour, others were in disbelief that she suggested the road was safe by pointing out a lack of wide shoulders, missing and damaged guardrails, and debris including trees and rocks.

Traffic delays on the Kuranda Range Road section of the Kennedy Highway, which Cook MP Cynthia Cook labelled as one of the safest roads. Picture: Brendan Radke

Meanwhile, Barron River MP Craig Crawford, who supports exploring alternative routes said it would likely be 20-30 years before any ideas came to fruition. Mr Crawford said he was encouraging people with “respectable, workable” ideas to come forward, which he said he would present to the Department of Transport and Main Roads and seek engineer feedback on.

He latest meeting was with an experienced local geologist Brett Duck who in February told the Cairns Post of a suggested route starting near James Cook University and coming out just before the Barron River Bridge, through Saddle Mountain, with the use of tunnels.

Originally published as Fix our broken link: Cook MP Cynthia Lui labels Kuranda Range as ‘safest road’