The popular freight route is now open to traffic in Far North Queensland, with single lane sections reopened
The Queensland government has announced that the Captain Cook Highway between Cairns and Port Douglas is now open to traffic following the impact of ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper.
The reopening of the Far North Queensland freight route comes following major recovery and repair efforts.
Now, road users can once again travel between Buchans Point and Oak Beach via the popular highway.
The reopening of the route reconnects local communities and freight destinations ahead of the school year while allowing critical supplies to move between Cairns and Port Douglas, with several single-lane sections to remain under traffic control.
“As we work to reconnect Far North Queensland, the reopening of the Captain Cook Highway between Cairns and Port Douglas is a huge milestone for people and businesses in this region,” Queensland acting transport and main roads minister Scott Stewart says.
“Now, parents who use this part of the road to take their children to school and businesses who rely on this road to deliver goods and services that enable our local economy will be able to use this route once more.
“I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the people of Far North Queensland for their patience and support as we have worked to reopen this critical part of the highway.
“Significant progress has been made onsite with 39 of the 61 damaged sites now cleared to allow access for work trains to begin removing soil from the area.”
The recovery effort has involved clearing the smaller slips, while about 75 per cent of the larger slips have been made ready for stabilisation activities if required.
A total of 48 water structures were either blocked with debris or required emergency repairs, with works undertaken on about 70 per cent of the culverts so far.
The Queensland government says clearing these landslips and removing mud and debris were key parts to reopening the highway.
Road users are advised to expect some delays due to traffic control in these single lane sections, with Queensland Rail also working to bring back the Kuranda Scenic Rail to full timetable.
“Behind the scenes, we are investigating multiple ways to repair the range, working with key stakeholders and the community to find the best long-term sustainable solution,” Queensland Rail CEO Kat Stapleton says.
“By late February, with the implementation of a track deviation, we hope to be able to run one return Kuranda Scenic Rail service on the weekends. This will allow our crews access to the track during the week to continue works to future-proof the rail corridor from extreme weather.
“We expect that our long-term works will be completed in late April to allow us to return to our full timetable, but we will continue to keep the community informed of any updates.”
On top of this, the Queensland government says works to construct a temporary single-lane access on the critical freight route that is the Palmerston Highway are progressing between Crawfords Lookout and Junction Road.
The highway sustained significant damage including major pavement slips, with highway repairs set to take an extended period of time.