Barron River Bridge delays anger commuters near Kuranda

Commuters are furious about a state government report that says major Barron River Bridge upgrades at Kuranda are still decades away.

COMMUTERS have been slowed down by the latest lane closure on the Barron River Bridge near Kuranda, but they’re revved up about a state government report that forecasts major upgrades to be decades away.

The disruption at the top of the Kuranda Range Road caused headaches for motorists at both Streets Creek and the Barron River Bridge following the return of single lane operations on Monday.

Traffic lights will operate from 9am to 3pm until sometime in March as engineers check welds to expansion joints made during single lane operation of the bridge for most of last year.

The Kuranda River bridge on the Kennedy Highway is now operating as a single lane, with road traffic controllers operating traffic lights from 9am to 3pm, as RoadTek engineers check the structural integrity of the roadworks carried out last year under the bridge. Picture: Brendan Radke

Daily commuter Peter Cohen has studied bridge reports for years, spending “untold hours” investigating traffic flow on the range road linking Smithfield and Kuranda.

He has been “absolutely disgusted” with the findings of the $1.6m Cairns to Northern Tablelands Access Strategy.

“The report is ... very disappointing, looking very much like it was composed using chapters of the TMR road planning and design manual as a template with a few glossy pictures thrown in,” he said.

Kuranda resident Chris Basson waits at the traffic lights on the Kuranda side to cross the bridge. Picture: Brendan Radke

Another motorist Chris Basson, while stopped at a red light approaching the bridge on Tuesday, thought the bridge situation “pathetic”.

“Well, I’m lucky I’m not working anymore, if I was I would be bloody pissed off,” he said.

“It’s crazy. We all live up here and we all have to work in Cairns.”

Crossing the bridge this week, Jade Spinelli was “not enthused.”

“There’s a crash on the Kuranda range every week,” she said.

Kuranda local Damian Kingston walks his dogs Thoureau and Ned across the bridge close to the traffic. Picture: Brendan Radke

“And the traffic delays. I’m not gonna lie, I’m not really rapt with that.”

According to the TMR website the new report “contributes to regional growth” but the document has been slammed by advocates after it recommended no major upgrade of Kuranda Range Road was needed before 2051.

Far North Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils (FNQROC) executive officer Darlene Irvine disputed the claims in the report.

Queues of traffic bank up at the traffic light on the Kuranda side of the bridge. Picture: Brendan Radke

“We need to start to find a solution and to say it will not be at capacity until 2051 they are not going to start to look for a solution until then, which is absolutely ridiculous,” she said.

Kuranda resident, Mr Cohen, said the report was evidence of a successive failure of government.

“Over the past 20 years to tackle a difficult problem reports, studies and investigations have simply put off the inevitable,” he said.

Originally published as Barron River Bridge delays anger commuters near Kuranda