Bypass to be tested at new $164m road link opening
A congestion-busting link to divert thousands of cars from the city’s most notorious bottleneck is about to be put to the ultimate test.
Cairns
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DUBBED a congestion busting link to change the game for motorists on the northern beaches, the Smithfield bypass is set to divert thousands of cars away from the city’s most notorious bottleneck and will soon be put to the ultimate test.
On Thursday massive concrete bollards blocking the 3.8km section will be removed to allow the first cars access to the two lane $164m roadway.
Following forced land resumption, debate about the route of the new road and motorist backlash at congestion during construction, the road opens three years after the first sod was turned.
It’s expected 45,000 motorists a day will switch to the new route and reduce traffic volumes at the Smithfield roundabout bottleneck.
While some are convinced the flyover at McGregor Rd has been built in the wrong place and the project will be become a white elephant others have been eagerly anticipated the road opening.
Simone Ratti lives in Edge Hill and commutes daily to Smithfield and the Northern Beaches.
She said the bypass will be a timesaver and improve safety.
“I am excited because it will save time and it will just be an easier quicker drive,” she said.
“One of the biggest things it will hopefully save is having an accident because of all the roundabouts.”
The bypass began in 2018 and has been completed following 440,600 hours of work put in by a workforce made up of 97 local suppliers and subcontractors.
However taxi driver Mick Agius was not convinced the new road was a silver bullet fix to the congestion on the Captain Cook Highway.
“I think they put the overpass in the wrong place, it’s crazy,” he said.
“I think once it’s finished you are still going to have trouble at the Caravonica roundabout, that’s where the overpass should have gone in.
“But it will take the congestion off the Smithfield roundabout.”
Barron River MP Craig Crawford said the upgrade was made possible, in part, by a push from key advocates to deliver the most-needed piece of city infrastructure at the time.
“The Cairns Post, (Cairns Regional) Council and Advance Cairns were part of a big push to get it,” he said.
“It was the one thing in the city that we were on the hunt for at the time.”
Mr Crawford acknowledged there had been critics of the upgrade but defended the project by stating upcoming work on the Captain Cook Highway at the Cairns Airport and duplication of Western Arterial Rd would tie in to form a seamless road network.
“The bypass was all about getting a road that goes round the Smithfield roundabout that is taking 45,000 cars (a day) at the moment,” he said.
“Obviously there was criticism about why it was single lane not two lanes, but there are no intersections on the bypass and you should not have to overtake.
“I am expecting 20-25,000 cars a day will shift on to (the new) road and we will see big changes on the Smithfield roundabout.”
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will be in town on Thursday to open the bypass with Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey and Mr Crawford. She said completion of the highway was a testament to the local crews and businesses who toiled to make the project a reality.
“It’s a great day for the people of the Northern Beaches, Smithfield and Cairns. This bypass will reduce congestion and help to ensure locals get home sooner and spend less time in traffic into the future,” the Premier said.
Mr Bailey said after three-years of work, the bypass would deliver significant benefits for drivers.
“(It will) reduce travel times and relieve the local Smithfield road network,” he said.
BYPASS BY THE NUMBERS
THE much-anticipated new road link is the result of 175 workers toiling six days a week for the past three years.
A total of 93 per cent of the $164m state government spend has been invested locally within the Cairns region providing work for 97 local suppliers and subcontractors including Indigenous businesses.
It took more than 440,600 hours to complete the 3.8km section.
Cutting out a major bottleneck between the Cairns Western Arterial Rd and McGregor Rd the upgrade uses a four-legged intersection at the southern entrance that merges into the existing highway at the Campus Village Shopping Centre. The new road will be called the Captain Cook Highway and the old highway’s name will be chosen by the Minister after the public submitted suggestions.
BYPASS TIMELINE
APRIL 2017: Building Queensland business case for the Smithfield bypass project approved.
JULY 2017: Project funding announced by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk worth $152m
JULY 2018: Smithfield bypass tenders awarded to Highway Construction-Albem Operations
JULY 2018: Early construction work kicks off
NOVEMBER 2019: Preliminary designs released by Department of Transport and Main Roads
NOVEMBER 2019: Reports emerge of funding shortfall that need to be topped up to complete the project.
FEBRUARY 2020: Roads Minister Mark Bailey announces funding secured to expand Smithfield upgrade
APRIL 2020: Major works begin at the intersection of the Cairns Western Arterial Road.
JUNE 2020: Staged works on the Cairns Western Arterial Road begin.
JANUARY 2021: Overpass at northern end of the bypass is completed.
FEBRUARY 2021: Gridlock at the Cairns Western Arterial Road intersection when temporary traffic lights are installed triggers driver anger.
NOVEMBER 24, 2021: Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk opens the new road link.
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