$22.5m Yorkeys Knob project set to finally start
It has been the subject of much political wrangling in recent years, but work on a much-anticipated major infrastructure project on the northern beaches is set to start this month.
Cairns
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WORK on the long-awaited $22.5m Yorkeys Knob boat ramp will start this month.
Barron River MP Craig Crawford said a contract had been awarded to Queensland company, Hall Contracting Pty Ltd, to undertake a major component of the project.
“This impressive new infrastructure will significantly improve launching capacity and car-trailer parking for the northern suburbs, supporting Cairns boaties and tourists well into the future,” Mr Crawford said.
“There has been a lot of work to get the project to this point, including the feedback from locals and businesses in the area.”
It will have a six-lane boat ramp, three floating walkways and two breakwaters, 135 car-trailer parks, 63 standard car parks, six disabled parking spaces and a new toilet block.
The project is being jointly funded by Transport and Main Roads and the Cairns Regional Council with an overall budget of $22.4m.
Cairns Mayor Bob Manning said the council had set aside $2m this financial year and $1.5m in the following year.
“This is a much-needed facility for the northern beaches and one welcomed by boaties across the region,” Cr Manning said.
“The Far North is very popular with boaties and this new ramp will importantly improve safety, reduce wait times for people launching and retrieving boats and provide more parking capacity.”
Construction is expected to be completed in late 2022.
The plan has had its detractors over the years, with the Yorkeys Knob Residents Association, Yorkeys Knob Boat Ramp Action Group and, for a time, the Half Moon Bay Golf Club all opposing it.
However, a Department of Transport and Main Roads survey found 63 per cent of locals wanted it to go ahead.
It was subject to an environmental study in 2018 with Yorkeys Knob Boat Ramp Action Group campaigning to have plans scrapped.
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Originally published as $22.5m Yorkeys Knob project set to finally start
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