Fix for pinch point

Roadworks at Sheridan St

A NEW road construction contract has been awarded to bust inbound congestion on Sheridan St, however toxic foam contamination remains a costly handbrake to increased capacity near the Cairns Airport.

Koppens Developments has been awarded the contract to add a 900m third inbound lane to Sheridan St between Airport Ave and Lily St, through a notorious pinch point created by a school zone outside the Mother of Good Counsel School.

Construction is expected to start in January 2023.

The new construction announcement is part of an initial package of works included in the Cairns CBD to Smithfield Captain Cook Highway upgrade.

Planning for the major works hit a snag in June this year when toxic firefighting foam was unearthed at the site of an aviation fire station.

In a costly challenge to overcome it has not been revealed how remediation of the land will eat into the $360m budgeted to complete the Cairns Ring Road project from the CBD to Smithfield.

“PFAS is managed nationally via the National PFAS Management Program,” a Department of Transport and Main Roads spokesman said.

“We will work with the appropriate authorities to ensure any potentially contaminated area is investigated and ma aged appropriately.”

This week Transport and Main Roads announced master planning for the major project is expected to be complete in mid to late 2023.

Cairns MP Michael Healy welcomed extra inbound lanes past the Mother of Good Counsel School and said the Smithfield to Cairns City upgrade needed to be “fit for purpose.”

“We’ll continue to work through the master planning to ensure that any package of work delivered between the CBD and Smithfield is fit for purpose,” he said.

“Our aim is to provide a safer journey along the Captain Cook Highway, as well as improving the connectivity of public and active transport on this key connector.

“I encourage the community to engage with us through this planning as it progresses in 2023.”

In June leaked planning documents revealed a proposed realignment of the Captain Cook Highway near Thomatis Creek but TMR refused to reveal when the unfunded upgrade would kick off.

Again this week TMR provided no clear timeline for the completion of a six-lane upgrade of the road north of the Barron River and further declined to offer any detail of improvements to be included in the project’s master plan due for completion mid to late 2023.

“The planning project will identify priority stages for the upgrades along the entire route,” a spokesman said.