$463 million in FNQ road funding



Wednesday 6 July 2011

$463 million in FNQ road funding

Federal Minister Assisting the Attorney-General on Queensland Floods Recovery, Senator Joe Ludwig, and Queensland Main Roads Minister, Craig Wallace, have announced over $460 million would be invested in repairing disaster-damaged roads in Far North Queensland under 'Operation Queenslander.'

The announcement of the new funding was made during an inspection of recently completed $3.5 million reconstruction works on the Cairns Western Arterial.

Minister Wallace said the region's roads will be vastly improved.

"Far North Queenslanders are no strangers to wild weather but the unprecedented bout of cyclones, heavy rainfall and flooding experienced in recent years has taken its toll on the road network.

"Such was the magnitude of the past wet season that many roads west of the Great Dividing Range and in Cape York Peninsula were inaccessible until only a few weeks ago.

"There are still some submissions for repairs to be completed, so the figure of $463 million funding for the road rebuild will increase," he said.

"Widening works will be a particular focus on major freight and mining routes wherever possible."

The State Government has committed $30 million of funding to fixing 77 kilometres of damaged sections along the dangerous Captain Cook Highway.

20 sites of the highway between Cairns and Mossman are currently earmarked for reconstruction works and include placement of rock-fill and drape netting over the slopes above the highway at the sites between Buchans Point and Yule Point.

Reconstruction works also included the replacement of damaged bitumen at sites:

  • between the Barron River Bridge and Mowbray River Bridge
  • Kennedy Highway intersection and Reed Road, and
  • north of Ellis Beach

These works are currently under preparations for going to tender.