What’s next for the Kuranda Range Road fix following $210m funding from Labor Government

It’s the most hotly-debated route in the region and despite a $210m plan to make it safer, road users are still chorusing a clear message – they need more to be done. Here’s what local leaders say the next steps should be.

It’s the most hotly-debated route in the region and despite a $210m plan to make it safer, road users are still chorusing a clear message – they need more to be done.

A $210m promise to improve the treacherous Kuranda Range Rd – a stretch of the Kennedy Hwy connecting Cairns and the Atherton Tablelands – was cemented in the Federal Government’s budget.

Cairns-based Labor senator Nita Green said the full amount would be spent on safety upgrades and if more funding was need, the Queensland Government would need to put its hand out.

Labor Senator Nita Green said the $210m will completely go to safety measures for the Kuranda Range Rd. Picture: Supplied

“If there are further proposals or requests for funding from the State Government that can improve the road, we will consider those through the usual budget practices,” she said.

“I will be requesting regular briefings from Transport and Main Roads and the State Government on the progress of the (safety) project.”

A Department of Transport and Main Roads spokesman said it was working with the Federal Government to develop an appropriate scope of works and delivery time frame for the improvement works.

With $35m upgrades for an intelligent transport system already underway and due for completion in early 2023, the spokesman said a study to test and investigate long term solutions for the Barron River bridge near Kuranda had also started this week.

Heavy vehicle including trucks, buses and caravans frequently use the Kuranda Range Rd. Picture: Brendan Radke

But a Cairns Post poll revealed 88 per cent of readers believed more money should be spent on the range road, which is notorious for crashes and road closures, particularly on wet weather days.

Enterprise North executive manager and former Cairns mayor Kevin Byrne is pushing for an additional $600m to widen the Kuranda Range Rd to accommodate for heavy vehicle movement.

“The region needs it and all advocacy groups need to swing in behind this,” he said.

“The airport is soon to acquire a new export facility whose business case relies in good part on Tableland horticultural produce and we have an ageing bridge across the Barron River at Kuranda with limited load capacity and a road connection not fit for purpose that is stifling our development growth.”

Former Cairns Mayor and Executive Manager of Enterprise North Kevin Byrne is calling for an additional $600m to go towards widening the road. Picture: Brendan Radke

Works to the Cairns export facility, predicted to be completed end of 2022, will have to accommodate and adjust to the traffic, congestion and construction, according to Cairns Airport CEO Richard Barker.

“This neglect has gone on for far too long and it is high time the region raised its collective voice to fix the problem. The solutions are in front of us,” Mr Bryne said.

The $210m was a first step in the right direction but more cash would be needed “in the near future” said Redlynch resident and Five Rivers Construction sales consultant Yuvi Dhanju.

“It’s a good start, it’ll make a difference but with how busy the road is there needs to be ongoing improvements,” he said.

“I moved to Cairns eight years ago and compared to now, the road has gotten five times busier than what it was … when there are delays it’s an inconvenience.

Yuvi Dhanju from Redlynch, pictured with his mother Kuldeep Kaur and his wife Naz Dhanju, uses the road frequently and wants to see more roadworks done to improve safety. Picture: Brendan Radke

“They need to start with the (Barron River) bridge.”

Mr Dhanju recalled being stuck on the range for more than an hour and a half with a perfect storm of road works, delays and accidents causing a “nightmare” for him and other motorists.

“They have to get it sorted sooner rather than later,” he said.

Executive officer at Far North Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils (FNQROC) Darlene Irvine said while she was keen to see safety measures improve on the range road, the federal funding wouldn’t cut it when factoring in the Barron River Bridge.

“$210m in safety on the Kuranda Range Road doesn’t fix the efficiency and capacity issue,” she said.

Ms Irvine threw her support to Leichhardt member Warren Entsch’s push for $22m of the committed $210m to be allocated to an option report analysing viable alternative solutions for the Kuranda Range Rd.

Traffic driving on the stretch of Kennedy Highway between Smithfield and Kuranda, better know as the Kuranda Range Road. Picture: Brendan Radke

“It’s worth looking at potential alternative solutions to make we are implementing and future proofing (the road) … but it should be for the experts in the field to see,” she said.

Mareeba mayor Angela Toppin said while any funding was welcome improved range crossing needs to be finalised first with money to then be spent on design and implementation on that route.

“What is needed is a road that will provide efficient access for higher mass limit vehicles between the northern Tablelands and Cairns to reduce transport costs of freighting goods to and from Far North Queensland, including the Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape York Peninsula,” Cr Toppin said.

Kennedy MP Bob Katter said he believed state government would soon match federal government’s $210m allocation but the road should be level as a tourist drive.

He said if the government could find $2bn for the Gordonvale to Cairns Bruce Hwy upgrade

“We need alternative route. Give us the Bridle Track Tunnel, and you’ll get people from Mareeba to Cairns in 20 minutes, you’ll ease congestion from the Northern Beaches, and you’ll open up the Cairns Port to be accessed by the growing western minerals province,” he said.

Originally published as What’s next for the Kuranda Range Road fix following $210m funding from Labor Government