Highway traffic lights take back seat to CBD congestion fix

Immediate installation of traffic lights on the Captain Cook Highway are not a priority of the Cairns ring road project for the “foreseeable future” according to a Far North MP.

IMMEDIATE installation of traffic lights on the Captain Cook Highway are not a priority of the Cairns ring road project for the “foreseeable future” according to a Far North MP.

Barron River MP Craig Crawford addressed outrage from motorists and Cairns councillor Brett Olds concerned “stop lights” at the Holloways, Machans Beach and Yorkeys Knob exits would increase congestion for morning commuters.

“We won’t be seeing traffic lights popping up on the Captain Cook Highway anytime in the foreseeable future,” Mr Crawford said.

Cairns Regional Council has erected a very large, $24,000 sign on the side of the Captain Cook Highway at Aeroglen. The plethora of information the new sign contains is difficult to digest while travelling along at 80 kilometres per hour. PICTURE: BRENDAN RADKE

“These DTMR studies project into the next decade and beyond.

“Our focus is fixing the bottleneck at Cairns North between James Street and the Barron River bridge.”

Traffic light installation at the three Captain Cook Highway turn-offs are part of an investigation into a $359m Cairns Ring Road project linking the CBD to Smithfield.

The federal and state cash allocation followed the road section being included in the national road network in 2019 in a bid to address congestion.

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A Transport and Main Roads spokesman said master planning for the project would be completed by the end of the year but declined to say if traffic lights on the Captain Cook Highway would definitely replace roundabouts.

“The proposal to signalise the Machans Beach, Holloways Beach and Yorkeys Knob roundabouts is expected to provide long-term travel time and safety benefits at a lower cost than overpasses, within the 2046 design horizon,” the spokesman said.

Cr Olds speaking out about the proposal labelled “stop lights” as “ludicrous”.

“I see a lot of pain coming for people living up north, and our state MP tries to say he knows nothing about this,” he said.

The Captain Cook Highway just south of the Smithfield roundabout. Picture: Brendan Radke

TMR have said current traffic volumes do not justify overpasses at the highway turn offs but land will be set aside for future flyovers within the 2046 design horizon.

This could mean resumption of land needed for construction.

“Extensive consultation with impacted property owners and community consultation for the preliminary master plan along the 15.5km-long corridor is underway and will continue throughout the project,” TMR said.

Originally published as Highway traffic lights take back seat to CBD congestion fix