Highway delays anger drivers
ANGRY commuters want immediate action to fix Cairns' traffic congestion after a Bruce Highway bingle between two utes at Woree yesterday resulted in a 5km-long traffic jam.
The crash, which reduced the highway to one lane for about 40 minutes during morning peak-hour, also sparked fresh concerns about back streets being used by drivers to get around the snarl.
Cairns councillor Robert Pyne, who got stuck in the chaos, said urgent action was needed.
"Overpasses, less traffic lights and longer merger lanes, especially leaving Forest Gardens will help ease the problem," he said.
Cr Pyne said it was time for the work to begin or the political tide would turn on the Federal member for Leichhardt Jim Turnour and the Queensland Government.
Labor last year pledged to put part of the $150 million upgrade of the Bruce Highway in Cairns towards building overpasses at Ray Jones Drive and Sheehy Rd.
Mr Turnour said the overpasses election promise would be met and that an extra $5 million had been secured for planning. It would, however, take up to 18 months for planning to be
completed.
"I would hope construction to follow as soon as possible," Mr Turnour said.
It is understood a third overpass, at Foster Rd, is also on the cards.
In Tuesday’s State Budget, $350,000 was put aside to study connecting Ray Jones Drive and Sheehy Rd and $5 million was promised to expand a section of the Bruce Highway to six lanes north of Woree.
Bayview Heights resident Christine Taylor said yesterday’s crash highlighted how easily traffic could be disrupted and spill into residential neighbourhoods.
Ms Taylor lives in Currawong St, which has a link with Forest Gardens, and she said the procession of cars that wound past her home was another accident waiting to happen.
Currawong St connects with Anderson St and passes two schools before rejoining the highway.
"It has always been a danger to kids, I cannot understand why they connected it," Ms Taylor said.
"This chaos of this morning was the very reason residents didn’t want the link."
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Rat run: Traffic crawls along suburban Currawong St, Bayview Heights yesterday after drivers were forced off the Bruce Highway.
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