TMR unable to offer completion date of Far North landslide fixes

Roadworks are still not complete more than 540 days after Tropical Cyclone Jasper smashed the Far North Queensland coast, as fed-up drivers lash traffic controllers amid concern works won’t be finished before the second anniversary of the disaster.

The Captain Cook Highway linking Cairns and Port Douglas has been under single-lane operation at two points since December 2023. Picture: Peter Carruthers

Roadworks are still not complete more than 540 days after Tropical Cyclone Jasper smashed the Far North Queensland coast, as fed-up drivers lash traffic controllers amid concern works won’t be finished before the second anniversary of the disaster.

Sections of the Captain Cook Highway and the primary Tablelands access route

are yet to fully reopen since a massive deluge led to waterlogged earth slipping down the hillsides and taking sections of roadway with it.

Two points on each road have been reduced to single-lane operation for more than 540 days.

Roadwork “villages” complete with portaloos installed in the centre of the road to Port Douglas and a lack of visible work being done had pushed drivers to boiling point, former Douglas mayor Michael Kerr said.

A familiar sight on the road to Port Douglas. Picture: Peter Carruthers

“(It’s) extremely frustrating that it’s taken this long to get the amount of work happening,” he said.

The former mayor also said wait times of up to 15 minutes had impacted day tripper visits to Port Douglas and business owners were feeling the impact.

“We have got an extremely quiet town. I’ve never seen Port Douglas so quiet, it’s disastrously quiet and the only ones that are making good money out of the traffic controllers,” he said.

The total cost of traffic control over the duration of the road work is estimated to be potentially in the order of $18m.

Tourism Port Douglas Daintree chief executive Emma Tunnock played down the impact of the roadworks on visitation while emphasising the importance of delaying full night closures until the end of the peak tourist season.

A traffic controller monitors vehicle movement at the current roadworks site at the Henry Ross lookout on the Kuranda Range Road. Picture: Peter Carruthers

“My point is, well you’re driving one of the most beautiful coastal drives in the country and if you have to stop for a few minutes along the way and look at one of the most gorgeous views in the world, well so be it,” she said.

Last week Transport and Main Roads announced there would be no night works on the Captain Cook Highway for June and July but full night closures would be needed to get the road fully repaired.

This has led to concerns about overlapping night works on the Kuranda road which have not yet been announced beyond the end of July.

Far North Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils chief executive Darlene Irvine said if both roads shut down at night, getting anywhere from Port Douglas or Mossman would mean a three-hour trip via the Gillies Range Road.

She also flagged a two-year time limit for completion of restoration works under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangement.

A gabion basket retaining wall construction has been completed at the Henry Ross Lookout downslope slip. Picture: TMR

Work to fix the downslope slip at Streets Creek. Picture: TMR

“If we had of known soon enough, it’s an argument we could have taken to the federal government asking for an extension to that timeline,” she said.

“It’s highly unlikely that they will take the funding (away from) such a big, high-profile project … but it’s about making those requests clear and getting those permissions.”

Work on the upslope slip, about 1.2 kilometres towards Cairns from Henry Ross Lookout. Picture: TMR

Slope stabilisation works have been completed at the upslope site.

Based on a 2019 annual average daily traffic volume of 6257 cars at Craiglie and a travel time cost averaged to equal about $30 per hour, two stops at Captain Cook Highway pinch points of 10 minutes have cost the Far North economy more than $30m in lost time since December 2023 based on 1.5 people per vehicle, according to Cummings Economics data.
On the Kuranda Range Rd where the average traffic volume sits at 8871 vehicles a year, the cost of lost travel time since December 2023 is about $18m.

Gordon Wellham’s Exemplar Coaches travel the Port Douglas Road daily and he said the cost to his business since the landslips had been a significant financial burden.

“We’ve been smacked around the chops a fair bit,” he said.

Mobile traffic lights have been in operation at the Streets Creek crossing since December 2023 when landslides damaged the road. Picture: Peter Carruthers

“Particularly (directly) after Jasper, we were (using) the inland route and that's twice the distance and more than twice the cost but we kept the wheels moving.

“(Roadworks are) a disruption but we are allowing for it.”

In an update last week from TMR, the road authority called out abuse of traffic controllers and light runners at road work sites throughout the Far North district.

TMR warned ignoring road closures and direction of traffic controllers was an offence and number and vehicle details of drivers doing the wrong thing would be passed onto police.

“This puts everyone in danger,” TMR stated.

Damage to the Kuranda Range Road near the Henry Ross Lookout. Picture: Queensland Police Service

“We appreciate the volume of roadworks underway on the region’s critical routes, including key range crossings and tourist roads and associated traffic impacts, is frustrating for road users.”

TMR has been unable to provide a definite time frame for the completion of works or the reopening of dual-lane operations at this stage, however, in the event of a major emergency on the Tablelands during night closures there’s an ongoing arrangement to allow emergency service vehicles through.

“Reconstruction works are targeted to be completed within two years after the financial year in which an event occurred. In some instances where exceptional circumstances are encountered, this period can be extended,” a TMR spokesman said.

Up to May this year more than $140m has been spent on Tropical Cyclone Jasper repairs across districts affected by the disaster.

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Originally published as TMR unable to offer completion date of Far North landslide fixes