FNQ GRIDLOCK Delay keeps drivers in jam

IN 10 YEARS’ time, the morning school run will be a thing of the past for Kamerunga mumof-two Deanne Murphy.

But the traffic headaches that will come in between, with the proposed lengthy timeline for upgrading Cairns Western Arterial Rd, are already filling her with dread.

The Cairns Post revealed this week that new advice from the Department of Transport and Main Roads was the design work for the road was not due for completion until late-2025, before construction can even begin.

Mrs Murphy currently drops son Max, 12, at St Andrew’s Catholic College at Redlynch and daughter Sarah, 15, at Trinity Bay State High School before heading to work at Manunda.

She said she already often faced lengthy delays at the Kamerunga Rd lights and at Redlynch and feared the problem would only get worse, particularly with several developments, including the Redlynch Vista Estate and Botanica Lifestyle Resort retirement village, already approved.

“(Ten years) is going to be too late because they’re doing those new subdivisions at Redlynch now,” she said.

“There’s going to be hundreds of houses going in there.

“They’re putting all the population in, but they’re not going to upgrade the road in time. It’s never going to cope with that.”

“And if you get an accident or flooding at the beaches all the traffic comes this way and it’s going to take an hour and a half to get to work.”

Advance Cairns boss Nick Trompf and Barron River MP Craig Crawford both said earlier this week the community needed to speak up to get the message heard in Brisbane and have the process expedited.

Division 6 councillor Linda Cooper said she was “bemused” by the call from Mr Crawford for the public to lobby the State Government.

“I thought that’s what Craig did,” she said.

“This is not a new project, we’ve been talking about it for a decade at least.

“We know the project needs to be done, the population is not decreasing. It’s not anecdotal, it’s a nightmare being stuck in traffic.”

THEY’RE PUTTING ALL THE POPULATION IN, BUT THEY’RE NOT GOING TO UPGRADE THE ROAD IN TIME. IT’S NEVER GOING TO COPE WITH THAT.