Dangerous Daintree repairs
3-week Council job
I’m a great believer in giving credit where credit is due. Earlier this year Newsport highlighted some dangerous eroded curves on the Alexandra Range in the Daintree which is between the Ferry and Cow Bay.
In our opinion they were accidents waiting to happen if tyres on a vehicle got too close to the edge, particularly at night. Of course, locals know the road like the back of their hand so minimum concern there, but visitors unfamiliar with the tricky winding road could have found themselves over the side and in terrible trouble. Well Douglas Shire Council, who are responsible for the road, have acted and are in the throes of repairing most of the dangerous sections. Newsport noticed they haven’t got to what is probably the worst section on the southern down track between the Mount Alexandra Lookout and Ferry where a drop onto a huge tree stump remain of concern.
Locals and tourists have had to endure up to 15 minutes wait while Council staff do their thing on the Range Road but surely no one’s going to grumble about that when they can see the important road being made safer. During the work, one lane will be closed while the trucks and excavator are operating between the hours of 7am to 4pm Monday to Friday.
These works have been supported by the Wet Tropics Management Authority and being done under Council’s maintenance permit. Council in response to our enquiries say work started last Monday October 31 and is expected to take 3 weeks but Newsport was travelling on the road Monday and much of the shoring up of the eroded sections with large blue stone, had already been completed.
Council says there’s eight locations on the northern side of the Alexandra Range requiring repairs which sounds like that southern nasty on the down track to the Ferry has been put on the back burner. Today Newsport put some direct questions to the Douglas Shire Council about that section.
- Are there ANY edges on the down track between the Alexandra Range Lookout and the Ferry that the Council will shore up with blue stone during this 3-week period?
- If so, will one of them be the edge that has the distinctive tree stump at the bottom?
- If not, when do you expect Council to attend to that one?
Their response was not forthcoming by time of publication.
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