Kennedy Highway (Kuranda Range Road) cyclone reconstruction works
Kennedy Highway (Kuranda Range Road) cyclone reconstruction works
North Queensland Region
Natural Disaster Program
Location
Far North Queensland
Timing
Reconstruction works are underway
Status
Construction
Kennedy Highway (Kuranda Range Road) cyclone reconstruction works
TRAFFIC ALERT
Scheduled night closures
Scheduled night closures will be required on Kuranda Range Road from Sunday 2 August to Thursday 24 September 2026, weather and site conditions permitting.
The full road closure will enable works to be completed at the major downslope slip below Henry Ross Lookout. This will include reinstating the road pavement and installing new guardrail.
9pm to 4am, Sunday to Thursday
traffic let through once in each direction at midnight (12am)
no scheduled night closures on Friday and Saturday nights.
We will deliver other works during the closure period where the type of works and equipment require a full road closure for the safety of road workers and motorists.
Progress
Significant progress has been made on restoring the Kennedy Highway (Kuranda Range Road) to its pre-event function following Tropical Cyclone Jasper in December 2023 and the North and Far North Tropical Low in February 2025.
Some 30 sites damaged during Tropical Cyclone Jasper have been stabilised on the Kennedy Highway, with 25 of these on the Kuranda Range Road.
Work is currently underway on four major downslope sites, with repairs to another three sites to commence by the end of 2026.
There are 10 further sites identified for repairs from the February 2025 weather event. Repairs have been completed on three sites. Work is currently underway at two sites and repairs will commence at another three sites in 2026.
Works include geotechnical solutions like soil nailing, erosion control mesh and gabion baskets, as well as reshaping embankments, clearing table drains, and removing loose materials.
The majority of the works on Kuranda Range Road are expected to be completed by late-2026. However, some works, including repairs to two sites damaged in the early 2025 event, will commence in early 2027, site and weather conditions permitting.
Betterment works to improve drainage at two locations will be delivered in 2026.
Benefits
Restores damaged infrastructure
Contributes to economy
Contributes to regional growth
Key features
Restoring access for communities and businesses.
Restoring damaged roads and road surfaces.
Repairing damaged slopes and batters along roads.
Clearing silt and debris.
Traffic management
Ongoing night works under single lane traffic control will continue for the duration of 2026.
Shorter-term or ad-hoc night closures will be required for the scope of works at some sites in 2026. This is to enable construction activities to be completed that are not possible using single-lane closures or long traffic holds, mostly due to the large equipment that needs the full road width.
Advance notice will be provided to stakeholders ahead of any change in traffic conditions.
The contract for the reconstruction works associated with Tropical Cyclone Jasper has been awarded to SEE Civil Pty Ltd.
Project location map
Map showing current work sites.An 11-metre-high gabion basket wall completed as part of stabilisation works on major downslope slip below Henry Ross Lookout, Kuranda Range Road.Completed upslope stabilisation works on Kuranda Range Road.
Progress of reconstruction works at a major downslope site below Henry Ross Lookout
More than 1400 projects are underway to restore roads across Queensland damaged by floods and bushfires. Communities are being reconnected and regional economic recovery is being supported following damage to the state-controlled road network in 2020–26.
The Queensland Government has made significant progress in repairing roads damaged by Tropical Cyclone Jasper in December 2023 and the North and Far North Tropical Low in February 2025.
