TMR to kick off Kuranda Range night works from November 24

Frustrated drivers have rubbished the state road authority for new night works on the Kuranda Range Rd which will coincide with the lead-in to the wet season. Road closure details here.

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

Frustrated drivers have rubbished the state road authority for new night works on the Kuranda Range Rd which will coincide with the lead-in to the wet season.

On Monday, Transport and Main Roads announced full night closures of the range road between November 24 and December 6 to allow for a long-term fix of two trouble spots.

The notorious road is yet to fully reopen since a massive deluge brought by ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper led to landslides and roadway damage.

Since late December, 2023, mobile traffic lights have controlled the single lane flow of traffic at the two trouble spots at a reported cost of $26,000 a day.

Transport and Main Roads night works to the Kuranda Range earlier this year. Picture: TMR

While emergency works to stabilise the mountain have been completed, two sections of the road have been reduced to single lanes at Streets Creek and the Henry Ross Lookout for 11 months.

Planned works will close the road nightly at 9pm to reopen at 4am, however no work will happen on Friday and Saturday nights.

Traffic will be let through from the top of the Kuranda Range Rd at 11.30pm and from the bottom at midnight.

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

TMR advised road users to be in the queue by these times as traffic will only be let through once in each direction for as long as it takes to clear vehicles in line, then the road will close in that direction until 4am.

But a mean December rainfall of 187.5mm had some drivers including Wesley Stiffle suggesting the planned work could be impacted by early monsoon rain.

Ongoing night closures of the Kuranda Range Rd by Transport and Main Roads pushed back the completion date of emergency works in April. Picture: TMR

“Too late, rains on its way, let’s all stop paying rego till 2026,” he posted on social media in response to the announcement.

In a justification of an 11-month delay in actioning a permanent fix, TMR stated it took a “considerable amount of time” due to more than 30 sites needing engineering solutions.

The Kuranda Range Road is not expected to fully reopen until mid 2025. Picture: Brendan Radke

“While this time frame may seem long, for planned major construction projects, these tasks would typically take two to three years,” an emailed alert to road users stated.

“Following the completion of extensive geotechnical investigations and significant work on detailed design, the reconstruction contract has been awarded and early works will start in November 2024.”

All works are targeted to be completed by mid-2026.

TMR will coordinate any temporary road closures to minimise impacts to road users as much as possible across the region.

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Originally published as TMR to kick off Kuranda Range night works from November 24