A GROUP lobbying against a multi-billion dollar Bruce Highway upgrade says the State Government has ignored studies which could save millions and avoid the taking back of homes.

Residents say Government studies commissioned in the 1990s show alternative routes for the Cairns Bruce Highway upgrade project.

Pictures: Plans for Bruce Highway upgrade

Under the current proposal the highway from Wrights Creek, south of Edmonton, to Draper St in Cairns would be widened into a 100km/h motorway designed to carry an extra 50,000 motorists each day into the CBD.

About 380 homes are in danger of being demolished as part of widening the road.

View the full details of the 3 options for the Bruce Highway upgrade.

Retiree Barry Davies, who is not part of the Southern Corridor Action Group but is providing consultation, said he worked with the State Government in 1999 on a study into land use for the southern suburbs.

He said the study highlighted undeveloped land behind Wrights Creek east of the highway as being suitable for the
upgrade.

Action group member Robyn Quick said Mr Davies had provided maps and notes from the study and believed a second southern access road was a better option.

"These proposals will make Cairns look like Los Angeles revisited, this is not our vision for Cairns," she said.

"Unless we have more than one single access into Cairns from the southern suburbs in the near future, every time there is a breakdown, we will experience gridlock."

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