Motorist safety questioned after Kuranda Range Rd upgrades

The date for completion of work on improving safety and clearing traffic incidents on a contentious Far North road is nearing but not everyone is convinced the upgrades will make a difference.

WORK to make the Kuranda Range Rd safer and improve traffic incident management will be finished in the new year but not everyone is convinced it will make a difference.

The installation of conduits to provide power along a 1.7km stretch of the Kuranda Range Rd and works to the intelligent transport systems (ITS) stations started in November — with the $35m project estimated to be operational early 2023 depending on construction and weather.

The Kuranda Range Road is the new location of an Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) stations will help pinpoint the location and severity of an incident and will advise motorists to reduce the risk of rear-end crashes. Picture: Supplied

With installations headed by GRC Civil, the new tech is hoped to bring added security and safety to the road after dozens of crashes and accidents including a heartbreaking incident earlier in March when a man died on the range.

But the upgrades were just “putting lipstick on a pig”, according to Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch.

“They come around with this smoke and mirrors about what they’re doing but they’re not dealing with the reality of the situation,” he said.

Federal Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said state and federal governments should allocate $22m of the $210m pledged to fix the Kuranda Range Rd to finding viable alternatives.

“It doesn’t matter how many electrical devices are there telling you when the road will be blocked, how many accidents there are, if a tree fell.

“Accidents will still occur, the road will still be blocked, trees will fall.”

Mr Entsch has been demanding a $22m commitment for the testing, costing and engineering of three viable alternatives that will fix Kuranda Range Rd and was disappointed that had been ignored.

A long awaited state government report into the future of the road has found that no major upgrades or alternatives to the Kuranda Range Road will be needed until 2051. Picture: Brendan Radke

This comes after a $210m federal government promise which is expected to be included in the October budget — however, no decisions have been made on its allocation.

“This should’ve been done a decade ago, 20 years ago,” he said.

However, the state and federal governments hoped the tech upgrades would improve the safety of Far North motorists.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey’s office stated no decision would be made on how the $210m pledged funds would be spent. Picture: NCA NewsWire/John Gass

“The ITS stations, once installed, will allow rapid detection and management of incidents on Kuranda Range Road, providing real-time information about trip times and surface conditions,” federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King said.

“When sections of the road are slippery due to wet weather, the speed limit for these areas can be remotely adjusted, making it safer for motorists.”

Originally published as Motorist safety questioned after Kuranda Range Rd upgrades