The Cairns Post

Katter vows road rage

Fight promised over Feluga Rd junction

- ELISABETH CHAMPION

KENNEDY MP Bob Katter has promised to fight to get a safety upgrade at a notorious Bruce Highway intersecti­on.

Yesterday, Mr Katter and Hill MP Shane Knuth held a press conference at the Feluga Rd intersecti­on, where they were joined by the mother of a teenager who died at that spot.

Mr Katter said he would lobby the state and federal government­s to have the intersecti­on upgraded, following a crash on December 13 that killed 18-year-old Tully woman Maddison Spyve and left her mother, Tammy Allwood, with serious injuries.

In a twist, Ms Allwood was passing by the press conference and stopped to see what was happening.

She said she hoped the tragedy of her daughter’s death would see something done about the intersecti­on.

“We don’t want to let her life go to waste,” she said.

“She was a beautiful girl and no one ever have a bad word to say about her – she was just the most lovely girl.”

Only a few years ago, Ms Allwood and her daughter were part of a campaign by Feluga residents that urged the Department of Transport and Main Roads to address safety at the intersecti­on.

Mr Katter said he didn't think he’d ever seen a more dangerous intersecti­on.

“You’ve got an S-bend on both sides, you’ve got a railway line, a bridge and then the main national highway,” he said. “I will be having a meeting with the minister as soon as possible.”

Mr Knuth said the community had been fighting for an upgrade for a long time.

“This is a huge issue, and if something is not done, we will see more lives lost,” he said.

 ?? Picture: ELISABETH CHAMPION ?? PLEDGE: MPs Bob Katter and Shane Knuth at Feluga Road.
Picture: ELISABETH CHAMPION PLEDGE: MPs Bob Katter and Shane Knuth at Feluga Road.

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