General News
23 October, 2025
Range road repairs ease traffic times
SINGLE-LANE traffic on the Kuranda Range Road was drastically reduced last week with the completion of the Streets Creek repairs.
Speaking at Parliament House on Thursday, Member for Barron River Bree James, said the site was one of the biggest slips on the range and its completion marked a major step forward for the Range Road upgrade.
“It’s been an incredible amount of work for the team,” she said.
“It has had 45 tonnes of shotcrete, 1,500 tonnes of rock fill and 440m of soil nails, along with a gabion wall and a guard rail.”
The assistant minister for Far North Queensland said the section’s completion now meant 13 slips had been repaired on the range with another seven sites expected to be completed by the end of the year, subject to weather.
The Kuranda range suffered major road damage to 37 sites following the devastating flooding after ex-cyclone Jasper in December 2023.
The road, part of the Kennedy highway, and a key connection to the Tablelands for commuters, trucks and tourists, was closed completely in the first few months after the cyclone, before single-lane traffic was introduced, extending travel times by upwards of 30 minutes.
Night closures were introduced this year between 9pm-4am, to further fast-track repairs and will continue until December 2025.
The changes in the number and length of single lane closures has varied over the past two years as works were underway, but this latest completion has improved drive time and traffic flow.
“The team up there are doing an incredible job, they work in some of the toughest environments there are, around the country,” Ms James said.
“They have to deal with everything from wild feral pigs to stinging trees, and a whole heap of other animals during the evenings, and I urge residents who use the road to stay patient.”
One of the other major slips, near Henry Ross Lookout, continues to undergo major repairs and remains a single lane.
“It’s a big job to bring Kuranda Range up to standard pre-Jasper, but rest assured, we are pushing through,” Ms James said.
“It is fantastic news to have 13 of the land slips out of the 30 or more that we had, completed.”
Some of the key elements of repairs and resilience for the project include protective barriers and guardrail, shoulder widening, wide centre line treatment, slope stability treatments, vegetation management and turnaround areas.
Road repairs have been jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland governments on an 80:20 basis, with investment totalling $262.5 million.
