Port Douglas Road cycle path works set to start this month and take three years
Shire transport
Work on a new $2.6m 3m-wide Port Douglas Road cycling-and-walking path from the Sheraton roundabout to about 300m past the Barrier Street roundabout is expected to start this month and take three years to finish.
A report tabled in this week’s Douglas Shire Council meeting stated works on the about 2km path were expected to begin in April and be completed by November, 2027.
The section from the Sheraton to Reef Resort Villas is scheduled to be finished by November, with the rest of the work to be carried out in stages after that.
Newsport understands several of the palm trees along that section are also expected to be removed.
About 75 per cent of the works - around $1.9m - are being paid for by the State Government, while Douglas Shire Council ratepayers are paying a quarter of the bill - about $640,000.
Mayor Lisa Scomazzon welcomed the bike-and-walking-path announcement.
“This upgrade will make it easier and safer for people to walk, ride and move around Port Douglas,” Mayor Scomazzon said.
An about $1.9m contract for the first parts of the work was recently awarded to C&M Contracting Services after the tender was put on the market in February.
The council report stated that C&M Contracting provided a competitive price and had the relevant experience to build a cycling network.
Plans for the path were first announced in February last year, and included demolishing the existing footpath, new drainage, pedestrian and cycle crossings and refuges, pavement marking, and new signage.
