Captain Cook Highway reopens as Far North Queensland’s road recovery works continue
Trucks, tradies and travellers have lined up to be some of the first to drive the reopened Captain Cook Highway to Port Douglas after 100 people and 65 pieces of earth moving equipment shifted more than 30,000 cubic metres of debris.
Cairns
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Trucks, tradies and travellers have lined up to be some of the first to drive the reopened coast road to Port Douglas after 100 people and 65 pieces of earth moving equipment shifted over 30,000 cubic metres of debris from the important link road.
The Captain Cook Highway between Buchans Point and Oak Beach was reopened to traffic at 8am on Saturday after major recovery and repair efforts following Tropical Cyclone Jasper.
The reopening reconnects local communities ahead of the school year and allows freight and other critical supplies to move between Cairns and Port Douglas.
Traffic and main roads acting district director Far North Daryl Jones said that they had been working tirelessly on the project over the last month.
“We have had 100 people on the project and 65 pieces of machinery, who have removes 30,000 cubic metres of rock, mud and debris off the road,” he said.
“There was damage to 48 water structures (culverts) that were either blocked with debris or required emergency repairs with 70 per cent of those repaired over the last month.
Mr Jones said that most of the debris was able to be moved by excavators but some took bit more bang.
“There was one rock that was 300 tonnes that had to be blasted into smaller pieces,” he said.
“The single lane sections will remain in place for some time to ensure the safety of motorists, there is still a lot of work to be done so we ask all motorists to obey all road signs and instructions from crew on the ground.”
First cab of the rank was Kuranda local Jake Smith who arrived at the roadblock just North of the roadblock at 6.30am before waiting till 8am to get on his way to his fishing spot.
“I’ve come down for my day off to do some fishing and to go for a bit of a walk around at Wangetti,” Mr Smith said.
“Its good to see the road open again lots of people are going to find it much easier to get around now they don’t have to go the long way.”
The line-up of cars stretched back to Palm Cove before the barriers were removed with tourism buses, freight trucks, and tourism workers including those from Hartley’s taking advantage of the much quicker drive north.
Tourism Tropical North Queensland Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen said the reopening was a significant milestone in the recovery for tourism operators north of Palm Cove and would help to increase the number of visitors in the region.
“Many tourism staff travel north for work, so the opening of the Great Barrier Reef Drive on the Captain Cook Highway also reconnects businesses in Port Douglas with their staff,” he said.
Several single-lane sections of the road will remain under traffic control.
Road users are advised to expect some delays due to traffic control in single lane sections of the highway.
FULL WRAP OF OTHER FAR NORTH ROAD CLOSURES
Goldsborough: Fisheries Bridge, Goldsborough Rd – bridge has been washed away.
Initial discussions for a proposed new bridge have been undertaken, however geotechnical investigations and hydraulic assessments are required.
Holloways Beach: Casuarina Street – large section of the road was washed out, isolating 55 properties. A temporary causeway was constructed in under a week to provide assess for residents and has also allowed for critical services (water, waste and electricity) to be restored. Council is working with QRA to investigate options for a long-term solution.
Lake Placid: Barron Gorge Road – washouts and slips at various locations.
The road is closed and is likely to remain closed for an extended period as some areas require a full reconstruction.
Ellis Beach: Ellis Beach car park and foreshore parklands.
The area has been severely impacted by debris from landslides and significant restoration works will be required.
Lake Morris Road, Copperlode Rd: Washouts and slips at various locations.
The road remains closed after the lookout. It is likely to remain closed for 6-8 weeks as crews work to clear landslip debris. Stabilisation works at some of the major slip locations will be required over the longer term (approximately two years).
Douglas Track and Stoney Creek Rd in Kamerunga: Stanton Rd in Smithfield; Seascape Cl in Palm Cove; and Lake Placid Rd in Caravonica – road wash outs.
Temporary repairs have been completed to make them safe. However, in many cases pipes and drainage has been blocked with rock; work has commenced to clear the blockages.
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