More delays but ‘no issue’

A STAGGERING number of shutdowns, lane closures and driving hazards have been reported since a long-awaited report deemed the Kuranda Range road undeserving of significant upgrades.

Delays were in place for about eight hours on Friday due to multiple landslides, fallen trees and “rivers on the road” as damage from heavy rainfall forced lane closures.

Motorists flagged landslides about 5am, with a clean-up crew spotted climbing the hill with a backhoe about 7am.

It was almost 1pm when Queensland Traffic finally sent motorists a celebratory text message saying the landslides had been cleared.

This latest headache was at least the 10th time traffic warnings were issued since the state government published its Northern Tablelands Access Strategy on January 28.

That record included a single-car rollover that blocked the highway for hours on Monday, a total closure after a tree fell near Henry Ross Lookout on March 5, and another single-vehicle crash on March 1.

Despite the frequency of crashes and hazards, the $1.6m study concluded the Kuranda Range did not require major upgrades for another 30 years.

It did flag plans to post new rapid crash response crews at the foot of the range to quickly clean up any accidents.

Unfortunately, that could be a while off.

No firm date has been set for the rapid response team rollout, but Barron River MP Craig Crawford said he was pushing for it to come as quickly as possible.

“Whether it is landslides, truck rollovers or car accidents, we need to reduce traffic delays on the range from hours to minutes,’’ he said.

“We need to be able to respond better to clear the road and work faster to return traffic flow to normal.

“That’s why I’m championing a ready response unit to be stationed at the base of the range at Smithfield.

“They would respond to everything that impacts traffic flow from cassowary strikes, to car crashes, to mudslides.

“I’m working with Transport and Main Roads on this as a priority.

“I’m keen to understand what steps need to be taken next to do it, and how quickly we can set it up.”

The measure was listed in the strategy as a short-term response – which by the government’s own standards could take from 0-4 years.