Road row strikes a dead end

THE Smithfield bypass clash remains as raw as ever with Cairns Regional Council and the State Government continually contradicting each other.

The council will write to the Department of Transport and Main Roads to reconsider its “new” alignment of the bypass, which would cut through the middle of a proposed industrial subdivision at Smithfield.

In the meantime the government denies there has been any change in the alignment since agreement was reached with “key stakeholders” years ago.

“This agreement was reached during planning conducted in 2013 (which included representatives from the Cairns Regional Council) which deemed the alignment as the most feasible route,” a DTMR spokesman said.

“This alignment was communicated to the developer on March 15, 2017, prior to purchase, and the declared route made public by the Premier in her announcement on July 12, 2017.”

The council says the subdivision represents one of the last remaining options for industrial development in the Northern Beaches.

Deputy Mayor Terry James said DTMR officers had told councillors at a meeting on August 30 that technical issues with the proposed section of road still needed to be considered.

“It’s not a matter that they have been done. They haven’t been, so this is the chance for them review the whole thing and find a solution that suits everybody,” he said.

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