Kuranda range road: Anger in Cairns, Mareeba, Kuranda at highway report

Far North motorists have expressed outrage after a new report found a major fix for the notorious Kuranda range road was still decades away. YOUR REACTION TO THE REPORT

FAR North road users have expressed outrage at a new report that found a major fix for the notorious Kuranda range road was 30 years away.

Released Friday, the $1.6m Cairns to Northern Tablelands Access Strategy looked at the four key transport corridors the Northern Tablelands – Mossman Mount Molloy Rd, the Kuranda Range Rd and Kennedy Highway to Mareeba, the Gillies Range Rd and the Palmerston Highway linking Innisfail to Ravenshoe.

The Kuranda Range Road is the main transport route from Cairns to the Atherton Tablelands, west to the Gulf and north to Cape York. Thousands of cars, tourist coaches and trucks traverse the Kuranda Range Road each day. Picture: Brendan Radke

But the sticking point infuriating Far North motorists was the crash-plagued Kuranda range road didn’t meet any “clear technical justification” for a major upgrade.

The report found the Kuranda route averaged 44 closures a year between 2015 and 2019, each of which had an average duration of 6.6 hours.

Cairns Post reader Maggie Brown summed up the sentiment of many.

“Obviously the people involved in writing the report do not use the range roads to access the Tableland,” she said.

Paramedics and Queensland fire and rescue personal work to free a trapped motorist in 2020.

Mitchell Smith echoed comments made by Kennedy MP Bob Katter stating a government spending spree on Brisbane Cross River Rail and the 2032 Olympics meant little cash was left for major Far North road projects at the pointy end of the state.

“They seem to have unlimited funds for the 2032 Olympics that (Palaszczuk) has signed us up to,” he said.

Mr Katter has upped the ante and challenged Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey to a public debate in Cairns to argue the merits of a new road after the minister said “there is no need for the deceptively named Bridle Track”.

The proposed road, dubbed the Bridle Track, that Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter says will dramatically cut travel time from Mareeba to Cairns. Picture: supplied

Mr Bailey said the planning did not recommend any immediate further investigations for major upgrades or new routes.

“What this study tells us is there is currently no clear technical justification for a major upgrade of existing routes, or construction of a new road along a new alignment,” he said.

A point that hit a nerve with another reader, Jason Giddings.

“Realistically at the current rate nothing will change on the Kuranda range for 20 years,” he said.

Single lane operation of the Kennedy Highway at the Kuranda bridge. Picture: Brian Cassey

“Pretty disappointing and strips the Tablelands of much-needed infrastructure and a lifeline to grow and expand. Not to mention the safety aspects of it.”

Raising the issue of the beleaguered Barron River bridge, that has again been reduced to one lane after travel limits were imposed for most of last year, Helen Mpofu posed a question on the lips of many who use the bridge daily.

“Been here 23 years,” she said.

“Heard the same story every year for 23 years. When the bridge collapses one day and six cars perish in the river, will something be done then?”

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Originally published as Kuranda range road: Anger in Cairns, Mareeba, Kuranda at highway report