‘Whatever it takes’: Over a hundred workers to start clearing road to isolated Far North community
A Far North mayor has vowed to pull out all the stops in a desperate bid to finally reopen a key road to a tourism town.
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A road to paradise may reopen sooner than expected with a major player joining forces with Douglas Shire Council in a bold bid to bring visitors back to Cape Tribulation.
The world-renowned tourism destination, perched in the heart of the Daintree Rainforest, has been shut off to the outside world for 22 days following Tropical Cyclone Jasper and the ensuing floods.
Essential supplies, including fuel, food and medication, have been delivered by helicopter and boat over the last fortnight.
But several business owners have declared they’re going broke with no tourists visiting the disaster-stricken community after landslides and road damage cut the community off.
Council formally engaged the services of industrial developer Ross Kiernan to work on Cape Tribulation Road on Tuesday morning.
At a meeting held last week with Disaster Recovery Minister Nikki Boyd in the community, Mr Kiernan declared he could reopen the road in seven days.
He’ll now be joined by a small army, with around 100 Townsville-based RoadTek crew and council employees set the task of clearing a path into the Far North town.
Council workers, including an arborist, flew into the coastal hamlet on Tuesday to investigate how to clear the road from the northern end, with more workers set to arrive on Wednesday.
Following two weeks of assessing the damage, Douglas Shire mayor Michael Kerr said the time for action was now.
“The plan is to get access to Cape Tribulation from Cow Bay as soon as we can … whatever it takes,” Mr Kerr said.
“We need to connect people again. We also have a major tourism industry that cannot survive without the road.
“There’s also the risk of another rain event potentially causing a catastrophic incident because people can’t escape.”
An astonishing 120 landslides were recorded in the area, Mr Kerr said, with Noah Creek Bridge badly damaged during the floods.
“The bridge has been dropped to a five-tonne limit,” Mr Kerr said.
“Council also has permits to take any machinery required (in the clean-up) through the creek bed there.”
Cape Tribulation businessman Lawrence Mason said the road served as a lifeline to the tiny tourism town.
“It’s nice to have some good news,” Mr Mason said.
“The underlying issue for all of us is getting the road open.
“That’s what feeds businesses and it’s pretty hard for anything to happen without it.”
Tropic Wings Tours general manager Colin Anderson said his business – which takes around 10,000 visitors annually to Cape Tribulation – was eagerly awaiting the road reopening.
“We’re ready to go as soon as the time comes and it’s safe to do so,” Mr Anderson said.
“It’s a significant part of our business. There are a lot of operators up there who rely on the tourist trade and visitors coming in.
“You’ve got to feel sorry for the poor buggers up there.”
Around 400,000 tourists visit the ancient rainforest each year, generating billions of dollars for the region’s economy.
“The sooner we can open up road access the better for everyone,” Tourism Minister Michael Healy said.
“We’re doing everything we can to support locals who are doing it tough in the community.”
The Cairns Post has unsuccessfully tried to contact Mr Kiernan since the disaster recovery meeting in Cape Tribulation last week.
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Originally published as ‘Whatever it takes’: Over a hundred workers to start clearing road to isolated Far North community
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