New pictures of $22.4m Yorkeys Knob boat ramp, scheduled for September opening
Cairns’ boaties have been waiting for some time to get on the water via a new, but contentious, boat ramp at Yorkeys Knob. The State Government has now delivered a new project update.
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Boaties could be on the water via the new Yorkeys Knob boat ramp as soon as September should the project not face further interruption.
The $22.4m project, led by Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads, commenced in 2022 and was due for completion by “mid-2023”, according to the project’s website.
Barron River MP Craig Crawford said he was told the boat ramp would be open in September.
“(We’re) waiting for Ergon to connect the light poles,” Mr Crawford said.
The timeline stated by an Ergon Energy spokeswoman was consistent with Mr Crawford’s.
“We are working with stakeholders and I can confirm that everything is on track for Ergon crews to have work completed in the next couple of weeks, by the end of the month,” the spokeswoman said.
The six-lane boat ramp is located between Yorkeys Knob Boating Club and Half Moon Bay Golf Club and will comprise three floating walkways, 135 car-trailer park spaces and 63 single car park spaces.
Most of the project’s funding came from the state government, but Cairns Regional Council also chipped in $3.5m.
The project has been warmly embraced by some locals but fiercely rejected by others.
A 2019 petition with almost 2000 signatures that denounced the project was swatted away by the Queensland Government.
Division 8 councillor Rhonda Coghlan said the project had polarised the Yorkeys Knob community.
“However, across the northern beaches it’s acknowledged that more boat ramps are needed north of the Barron (River),” Ms Coghlan said.
“The responsible fishing community are welcoming the additional access to our beautiful Great Barrier Reef, with additional amenities and parking.”
According to TMR’s website, the new boat ramp will relieve the existing boat ramp of congestion and reduce both launch and retrieval wait times for boaties.
An official project opening has been scheduled for September, according to Maritime Safety Queensland General Manager Kell Dillon.
“Completion of the new Yorkeys Knob boat ramp facility is tracking for September despite the project experiencing delays in the supply chain of certain materials, (which have been) impacting the entire construction industry, along with significant weather delays earlier this year,” Mr Dillon said.
“Currently, Ergon are completing the electrical works. Once their works are finished and a few other finishing touches for the overall project are completed in parallel, the facility will be opened.”
The project’s two-month delay is relatively benign compared to other Queensland Government projects in the Far North.
The finishing touches are now being put on the Cairns Convention Centre, capping off a 12-month project delay that resulted in state politicians holding parliament through construction noise.
In February 2022 construction on the Cairns Mental Health Unit only began in the same month the facility was meant to open, illuminating a two-year delay.
And the first sod on the Wangetti Trail was turned last month, carving a three-year delay into the soil.
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Originally published as New pictures of $22.4m Yorkeys Knob boat ramp, scheduled for September opening
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