What were the findings of the Kuranda Range Road safety audit, what progress is being made implementing the recommendations and what consultation is being undertaken with users groups including cyclists?

ANSWER

I thank the Member for Barron River for the question.

Shortly after becoming the Minister for Main Roads, I asked the Department of Main Roads to examine short-term options to improve safety and enhance traffic conditions on Kuranda Range Road.

In response, Main Roads carried out a comprehensive safety audit of the road, which examined the speed environment, geometry of the road, surface conditions, guardrails, line-marking and signage.

In December 2007, I announced a range of resulting measures and I am pleased to advise Main Roads has not wasted any time in getting started on their implementation. Weather permitting, the short term measures should all be in place by August 2008.

On 15 December, the speed limit was officially reduced from 80km/h to 60km/h in both directions between Streets Creek and the bottom of the range road at Smithfield. Feedback to Main Roads from some members of the public and the Police is that the new speed limit seems to be working extremely well and is making travel much safer.

Traffic accident statistics for the road add weight to these comments. I am pleased to say that since the introduction of the new speed limit there have been no major traffic incidents reported on the road (as at 31 March 2008).

I recently announced $2.84 million in funding from the Safer Roads Sooner program for the Kuranda Range Road over the next three years. Some $740,000 of this funding is being used to help implement the short term measures. This includes $640,000 to install one kilometre of guardrail, warning signs and intelligent transport systems devices and $100,000 for skid resistant treatment.

Work commenced before Christmas on the installation of the guardrail and will be completed by the end of April.

In early April 2008, work finished on the installation of the new warning signs and additional curve warning and directional signs, and the replacement of all worn or damaged guide posts. Work on some identified shoulder drop-offs has also been completed.

Other measures are in various stages of implementation. Work will commence this month on the asphalt surfacing of two pull-off bays for commercial bus operators at Saddle Mountain and Black Mountain Road; signage for the pull-off bays is already in place. In the coming months a heavy vehicle checking pull-off area will be established and safety will be improved at Henry Ross Lookout. Some resurfacing work will also be carried out to improve skid resistance.

I commend the Member for Barron River for the idea of trialling an SMS messaging system for road users on the Kuranda Range Road. Such a trial began on 2 January 2008 and has proved effective in alerting registered road users to hazards on the road. Variable Message Signs have been placed at the top and bottom of the range road and are also being used as an effective communication tool.

Main Roads commenced talks in late 2007 with some cyclist groups regarding the audit's recommendation to limit cyclists and heavy vehicle activity (vehicles over 5 tonnes) on the range road to non-peak traffic periods. This is in the interests of improving road safety and traffic flow during peak times.

On 16 April 2008, Main Roads will hold a workshop with relevant heavy vehicle operators. Feedback from the workshop will be used to make an informed decision regarding this recommendation and help with the development of a heavy vehicle strategy for this road.

The audit also identified some medium-term recommendations.

It identified curves on the range road that require some physical widening. Main Roads has started working on the detailed design proposal which will be finalised in negotiation with the Wet Tropics Management Authority and Queensland Parks and Wildlife, with a view to commencing construction later this year. Some $1.1 million of the Safer Roads Sooner funding will be spent on these works.

A further $1 million of the Safer Roads Sooner funding will be spent over the next two years on the provision of either a heavy vehicle safety ramp or intelligent transport systems for the road. In the coming months Main Roads will investigate these possibilities to see which is feasible.