General News
1 October, 2025
More bucks for road fixes
THE Douglas Shire is sharing in almost $49 million in works to build back better eight state-controlled roads damaged by ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper.
Works will be delivered through the 2023–24 Betterment Fund, which is jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper and the subsequent catastrophic flooding caused the most significant damage across Far North Queensland since severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi in 2011.
The betterment works will be delivered along with current reconstruction projects and aim to minimise future damage from severe weather and reduce road closures during and after disasters, including:
Improving drainage, pavement and slope resilience at multiple sites along the Captain Cook Highway
Improving drainage and pavement resilience at multiple sites along Mossman-Mount Molloy Road
Improving pavement resilience and drainage at multiple sites along Mossman-Daintree Road.
Ongoing reconstruction works on Kuranda Range Road and Captain Cook highway are also progressing.
Geotechnical investigations and detailed design have been completed across many of the 100-plus damage sites on Kuranda Range Road and Captain Cook Highway to allow construction to commence.
On the Captain Cook Highway, stabilisation works have been completed at two high priority downslope sites, with work progressing on more than 20 geotechnical sites along the highway.
Federal emergency management assistant minister Josh Wilson said the reconstruction works represented a critical investment in the safety and resilience of Far North Queensland communities impacted by Tropical Cyclone Jasper.
Federal Member for Leichhardt Matt Smith said ensuring roads were restored was essential post-disaster and having them built back more resilient was so important to minimise future damages in places like Far North Queensland where frequent weather events occur.
Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister Brent Mickelberg said significant work had already been undertaken to repair impacted roads.
“Roads across the Far North have copped a battering from natural disasters over the last two years – causing significant damage on key corridors such as the Kuranda Range Road and Captain Cook Highway, where there are still more than 100 geotechnical sites being repaired,” he said.
“In addition to the ongoing repairs, our focus is on building our roads back to a better, more resilient standard, to help reduce the risk of our road network being impacted on this scale in the future.
“These roads are key lifelines for communities, and we want to ensure they can stay connected, and bounce back quicker, in the face of natural disasters.”
For more information visit www.bit.ly/3VoPCnG
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