Sealing the Cape York Development Road

How can sealing a road be more problematic than leaving it as a corrugated dirt road?
The "Numpties" that like to speed all the time will do it regardless of if the road is dirt or bitumen and quite frankly I would much rather these idiots passed or overtook me on a bitumen road than a dirt one.
Just because someone drives a 4WD doesn't automatically make them a Good and courteous driver, Many of the 4WD's I come across on dirt roads are absolute tossers and don't give a rats about anyone else on the road especially on the dirt.

Sealing the road is good for those that want all this growth, we have to have.

For me,i believe it will wreck one of the last wilderness places in the state.

Easy access means more people.

More people means wrecking the place,as has happened to many other places,Fraser island is a very good example.

Just my 2 cents worth

Some good points being made in an interesting discussion.
Its certainly true that sealing a road for road transport doesn't always result in better prices for locals. However, in this case it's a choice between moving freight by boat or by truck. If you've shopped at Weipa and again at Bamaga you will know the differences, both in prices and in the range of goods. Weipa is much cheaper and better.
I guess it's true that sealing the development road would allow more people to travel there, although some cars already use the road. I'm not sure that speeds would rise much as the 4WDs seem to hammer over the corrugations pretty fast already. Maybe they'll just suffer less damage and crash less often.
Once off the bitumen the situation would be unchanged, so that would keep the cars away from the more remote areas.
From the point of view of the locals, I can only see benefits, both in services and jobs, in one of the most disadvantaged areas of the country.
It's also the reason I think the upgrading of the Bruce Highway is so important, as has been the rebuilding of the Pacific Highway.

The more roads that are sealed, the less we Rove. ...instead we race.

G`day ,

i`d say if the local people want their road sealed , it`s a good idea , if for visitors then not .

Long time since i was up there but i would have said going to the tip the adventure started at the Jardine crossing but now there`s a ferry , though i`ve only seen pictures of it .

I don`t get the food discussion at all , other than Weipa it was a luxury to buy meat and/or vegetables and beef was only if it was the time of the week or however they did it when they did a kill .

Was that fish were easily caught , infact it was possible to put them back till the required size was caught on the coast and snags were the biggest problem with barramundi in fresh .

The locals happily shared turtle meat and suckers could be caught on the beach for pork at the tip and depending where you were easily picked mangos , limes , coconuts etc and water never a problem .

Fuel if they had it or you had to wait for the barge but a pretty good place to have to wait .

For mine as i don`t live there i wouldn`t want a sealed road , if the reason for going is an adventure then i think it has already been made easy enough .

If you want tar go looking and you`ll find big areas where you wouldn`t expect , americans i think , iron range don`t really remember .

I`m very thankful i was able to visit there when i did and with Weipa always there to fall back on it was not hard , we spent 4 months up there on a 3 week holiday didn`t have any great need to get back to Cairns and only made the decision to leave because of the wet .

Reality is the PDR to the three ways is all but sealed already
Three ways to weipa is mostly on RIO land not gov and will get done soon
Three ways north less likely to be sealed but possible
I imagine that $200mill will seal to weipa not to the NPA

For the past 3-4 years the PDR has remained open without permit needed 365
Sure you’ll still get stuck a few days at the archer etc but once sealed to Weipa it WILL most definitely improve freight

The biggest benefit for sealing will be RIO , Amron and further bauxite projects on the western cape .... TOURISM is a drop in the bucket compared with bauxite


Steve

If it's all about the economy, then no doubt the bauxite jobs are needed...it would be interesting to know if any of the $200m for road is coming from rio / amrun?

We do need bauxite to build Land Rovers, increasingly however they are being designed primarily for the sealed roads that make it easier to mine bauxite.

Ultimately we'll only need Road Speeders (not Land Rovers)- ...the Velar comes to mind. I know! Free Velars for all! Now that would help grow the north QLD population! Although $200M would only buy around 2000 of them. So in the end the rich would get richer and the poor would get the picture, like everywhere else with bitumen roads.

As best as I can see this $200m being referred to is a 5 year project started in 2014

Indigenous company to help deliver Cape York road project - The Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Directory

Obviously every election these already made promises get dragged out and mentioned again
The project is to seal from Laura North to Weipa
From a few trips up north this year They seem on track to me and I imagine by Christmas 2019 it will be sealed to Weipa
Irrespective of who gets in on Saturday?

S

Quote:

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Originally Posted by roverrescue

As best as I can see this $200m being referred to is a 5 year project started in 2014

Indigenous company to help deliver Cape York road project - The Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Directory

Obviously every section these already made promises get dragged out and mentioned again
The project is to seal from Laura North to Weipa
From a few trips up north this year They seem on track to me and I imagine by Christmas 2019 it will be sealed to Weipa
Irrespective of who gets in on Saturday?

S

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Some more information in these:
Sealing the deal on Cape York Regional package - The Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Directory
Queensland election: Call to speed up sealing road to Cape York as project runs behind - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Sealing of Cape York’s Peninsula Developmental Road on target - The Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Directory

I'm going to the US next year, where it's very difficult to find a dirt road and a free bush camp.

So many people, so much bitumen, yet still so much poverty and inequality. ...is sealing the roads the economic or the social solution? I know it sounds like it could be great for all of the communities in North Queensland, but I'm not convinced. Something else seems to be missing from the equation.