September night closures out, but Gran Fondo road shut downs coming
Douglas transport
Night closures of Captain Cook Highway in September have been ruled out, but drivers need to start preparing for highway and other Port Douglas road closures on both Saturday, September 13, and Sunday, September 14, for the Gran Fondo Festival weekend.
The State Government Transport and Main Roads Department (TMR) said yesterday single-lane-traffic-control measures would continue for roadworks along the highway at Ellis Beach to south Wangetti, at the southern end of Ellis Beach and at Turtle Creek Beach.
“By completing more works during the day, the need for future night closures is expected to reduce as the reconstruction program progresses,” a TMR statement reads.
But regular users of the highway and Port Douglas main and side roads should start preparing for closures for the Gran Fondo bike race and the Run Port Douglas event on the Port Douglas Gran Fondo Festival weekend next month.
On Saturday, September 13, parts of Port Douglas Road will be used for the running race from 5am to 8.30am, but will remain open to traffic, while a host of other roads will be fully or partially shut down in the morning.
These include Barrier Street, Reef Street, Nautilus Street, Old Port Road, Wharf Street, Grant Street and Mowbray Street.
The running races start at 6.30am and the cut-off point for runners to finish the race is four hours and 45 minutes.
Then, on Sunday, September 14, several road closures will be in place for the Port Douglas Gran Fondo event, including large sections of the Captain Cook Highway.
The Highway will be closed for northbound traffic from 5.30am to 1.30pm from Palm Cove to Craiglie, and for southbound traffic from 6am to 1.30pm.
The Highway will open at 11:30am to allow traffic from the south to access Wangetti and Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures, but access to Port Douglas will not be allowed.
“This event will deliver close to $2m into the local economy and bring new tourists to the region,” an event organisation statement reads.
“But we understand that road closures impact the local community, Cairns Airport transfers, tourism operators, travelling tourists, businesses and all road users.
“Our aim is to minimise this impact as much as possible.”
For the full schedule of Gran Fondo road closures, go to portdouglasgranfondo.com.au/festival-information/road-closures.
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