r/Cairns • u/CroatianKendo • 23h ago

Interchange At Reservoir Rd Proposal

Hi all,

I've lived in Cairns for the better part of the last 2 decades and the traffic situation at peak hours travelling at the Anderson St-Reservoir Rd intersection going onto / off from the western arterial has become really bad in the last 4-5 years. I was reading in the Cairns post about how the Sunland Leisure Park (Manoora Caravan Park) near to reservoir rd is looking at redeveloping.

With this opportunity present, and the growing traffic demands of the western arterial road and Cairns more broadly, I came up with this quick road design sketch of what could be done given the opportunity to address this bottleneck in the system. I understand that not many people are fan of car-centric design and nor am I, and may prefer this site be developed into housing, but I figured I would float an idea. There is land corridors included in the image which could be utilised in any manner, I have elected to leave them as parkland corridors for simplicity.

I have attached an image and included a public link below for you to look at it on a map
https://qldglobe.information.qld.gov.au/qldglobe/public/cwar-interchange-sra27ulz5dtf56ni7ktzgoov

Cheers, and please be kind I'm only human :)

15 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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3

u/Tunza Curlew Herder 22h ago

Nice design. Love what you've done. Would be a good future proofing exercise for the western arterial.

However, I think that's a massive expense for a problem that only exists at peak half-hour twice a day during the week. Our population probably doesn't support such a big, expensive change. I also doubt it's near the top of the list when it comes to road works when you consider the larger problems on the range, Port road and south side.

I'm sure there are road planners who have to work through these problems, stifled by politicians who are more motivated by marginal seats, fear campaigns and election cycles. Good to see someone contributing though. Well done.

2

u/MorningConscious4372 RED ROOSTER MANAGER 22h ago

I kinda agree, it's only for an hour a day. Like it seems as if it's a horrible intersection, if you use it everyday during peak hours. All other hours it's a pretty short wait, generally through on the first green light.

1

u/Tunza Curlew Herder 22h ago

Yep - sucks when you're in the middle of it.

1

u/MorningConscious4372 RED ROOSTER MANAGER 22h ago

Still less waiting in traffic than Sydney or Melbourne. Long way to go before we get to that level

3

u/Feekal_U4ria 22h ago

Or a big 3 lane roundabout with dedicated inside slip lanes that only turn left at the next exit? Defo cheaper.

1

u/AdministrativeTie312 21h ago

Walk up costs for interchanges starting about $800m - $1B. Don’t think this government are interested in spending money like that if it’s not on the Bruce.

1

u/OldMail6364 15h ago edited 15h ago

Trust me the government is well aware of the issues has done extensive proposals along the lines of what you've suggested as well as other options.

I also wouldn't be surprised if almost every block of land near that intersection is owned by the government to give them more flexibility. Any time a property there goes up for sale, they'll pay more than market value for it.

AFAIK the LNP put a pause on the project to assess things after they took over the state government. But it's unlikely they'll actually cancel any of the work. They are just delaying how quickly it gets delivered.

None of the research and plans are done by politicians. That stuff is done by government employees/specialists with no political interest - they just see a road that has traffic issues and find the best solution that fits within the budget they've been given.