Reconnecting the Far North

• 650kms of state-controlled roads have re-opened across Far North Queensland
• Crews continue to work as quickly as possible to clear and re-open critical transport routes to reconnect communities with essential services
• Urgent works have been completed on numerous roads, including emergency reconstruction, bridge, culvert and geotechnical inspections completed
• Thousands of tonnes of debris and landfill has been cleared

Transport and Main Road crews have worked tirelessly over the Christmas and New Year period to continue to provide access to communities cut off by flooding caused by ex-tropical cyclone Jasper.

A number of sections of Captain Cook Highway received significant damage as a result of flooding.

The section of Captain Cook Highway between Buchans Point and Oak Beach remains closed due to numerous significant land slips.

A 300-tonne boulder was demolished on this section of the highway on 22 December 2023 and further works were undertaken yesterday (2 January 2024) to remove further large boulders from the landslip area.

Meanwhile, critical work along the Palmerston and Kuranda Range Road has continued with more planned over coming weeks.

Quotes attributable to Acting Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick:

“The Far North has copped a big whack, but we are going flat out to get everything up and running again.

“For tourism operators and agricultural producers on the tablelands, we need to open these critical transport links.

“We have already re-opened 650kms of state-controlled roads and are really focusing on reopening 19kms along the Palmerston Highway and 27kms on the Captain Cook Highway.

“This is a big job and we will be with Far North Queensland every step of the way.”

Quotes attributable to Minister for Transport and Main Roads and Minister for Digital Services Bart Mellish:

“Along the Captain Cook Highway at Ellis Beach recovery works are continuing to remove mud and debris, that is about 2 meters deep, from the road.

“Our focus over the coming weeks for the Captain Cook Highway is to continue to clear and repair the section between Buchan Point and Oak Beach.

“Removal of the 300-tonne boulder at this site is an extraordinary effort, and crews are continuing this tireless work.

“We will open this section of the highway when it is safe to do so.

“A full closure of Kuranda Range Road will be in place from 9 pm to 4 am on Thursday 4, Friday 5  Saturday 6 January 2024 to allow significant repair works to be undertaken.

“Kuranda Range Road will continue to be open outside these hours with a number of sections reduced to single lane with traffic control.

“Our current focus on Kuranda Range Road is to undertake further works to improve resilience on the road.  We will also commence design for repairs to the more severely damaged landslip sites currently under traffic control.

“There has been a significant loss of vegetation on Kuranda Range and some of the severe landslip sites pose a significant risk for further damage to the road if the area experiences significant rainfall.

“For the safety of road users the Kuranda Range Road may be closed at short notice if significant rainfall events occur in the coming weeks.

“The Palmerston Highway remains closed due to a significant landslip.

“We are aware of the importance of the Palmerston Highway for freight movements and are working on a temporary solution to open the road to one lane.

“This solution will depend on further rainfall and geotechnical investigations.

“I’d like to thank the freight industry for working with us to find a viable alternative while we work to repair the Palmerston as soon as we possibly can.

“We want to get freight moving through here as soon as it is safe to do so, we will continue to keep the community updated on the progress of these vital works.”

Quotes attributable to Queensland Rail CEO Kat Stapleton:

"Crews have been working tirelessly to repair the substantial damage to Queensland Rail’s network, first on the North Coast Line and now on the Kuranda Range.

“We understand how important the Kuranda Scenic Rail is to locals and tourists alike and we want to be welcoming customers back onboard this iconic and world-class service as soon as is safely possible.

“Our teams were able to quickly and safely restore the North Coast Line before Christmas to allow vital freight and passengers services to continue servicing Far North Queensland.

“We still have a mammoth task ahead of us on the Kuranda Scenic Rail. There have been major track washouts, significant landslips, uprooted trees and debris on the tracks in more than 60 sites along our railway on the Kuranda Range.

“The damage is devastating, including 14 locations where the landslips exceed 60 metres in depth in some places.

“We are making progress with the repairs, with excavators being mobilised to Kuranda to remove the silt that is covering the tracks from Barron Falls to Kuranda and engineers onsite to continue inspections of tunnels and structures. 

“Making sure our hard-working teams remain safe is our first priority and we appreciate the community’s patience while we undertake these extensive works.

“I want to thank all our workers for their efforts in these challenging circumstances”.

Further information:

For up-to-date information about works on the state-controlled network call 13 19 40 or visit www.QLDTraffic.qld.gov.au.

Media contact: James Kleeman (Transport Minister) – 0466 620 176