![One of two truck rollovers on the Kennedy Highway so far this year. Picture supplied. One of two truck rollovers on the Kennedy Highway so far this year. Picture supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/88uitQDCBZnXA8enwGJ5Zd/9922d320-7050-49e0-930b-3ab05cc06f3d.jpg/r0_0_1458_820_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The second truck rollover on a section of the Kennedy Highway in six months has renewed a call for action to urgently redesign the road.
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Last week's accident involved a prime mover and its load turning over on an embankment on the A1 highway between the Herberton turn-off and Tumoulin, closing the road for several hours.
In February this year a truck was unable to navigate the same corner near the Herberton turn-off and also rolled down the embankment.
Hill MP Shane Knuth said at the time that the "notorious" 2.4km section of road was highly dangerous and needed to be urgently fixed.
"This section is dangerous not only for trucks but also other vehicles, which have brought about a number of complaints that I raised with Transport and Main Roads a number of years ago," he said.
Ravenshoe Chamber of Commerce vice president Blake Kidner added his support, saying the 18.4km section of the 32B Kennedy Highway from Mareeba to Ravenshoe was off limits to oversize and B-double loads, which was was causing a substantial financial burden to many businesses on the southern Tablelands.
![Hill MP Shane Knuth, Dempsey Cranes and Construction owner Chris Dempsey, and Ravenshoe Chamber of Commerce vice president Blake Kidner inspecting the site where a truck rolled down an embankment on the Kennedy Highway in February 2023. Picture supplied. Hill MP Shane Knuth, Dempsey Cranes and Construction owner Chris Dempsey, and Ravenshoe Chamber of Commerce vice president Blake Kidner inspecting the site where a truck rolled down an embankment on the Kennedy Highway in February 2023. Picture supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/88uitQDCBZnXA8enwGJ5Zd/cb4fb4aa-3e32-40d4-9ffa-ec4433e302eb.jpg/r0_195_5472_3284_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Large loads are forced to detour onto a longer route, but Mr Kidner said trucks were 'running the gauntlet' and using the shorter route to save time and money.
"I travel this road regularly and am consistently seeing oversize trucks and B-doubles on this section of prohibited road," he said.
"This is because the B-double route is 94km to the same location and travels through three CBDs, three school zones and three very steep ranges.
"This not only adds significant costs to business for unnecessary transport but also presents a far greater safety risk."
It also adds up to an estimated two hours of travel time.
![The longer route trucks are currently made to travel on, and the shorter route they would prefer to traverse. Google Maps collage. The longer route trucks are currently made to travel on, and the shorter route they would prefer to traverse. Google Maps collage.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/88uitQDCBZnXA8enwGJ5Zd/8225f137-9d79-40ad-ad0d-cedab343d7a1.jpg/r0_0_2880_1920_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Mr Kidner, the managing director of Kidner Contracting, one of the first road building companies to connect remote areas in Far North Queensland, said the shorter route, which was very tightly cornered and narrow, was a death trap waiting to happen and should be dealt with as a matter of urgency.
"We are joining Shane in calling for the 2.4km stretch of road to be urgently fixed and funding to be allocated to widen the 18.4km section of road from Tumoulin turn-off to Belson Rd turn-off, to allow safe passage of heavy vehicles, B-doubles and oversize vehicles, along our national A1 highway," he said.
"It's a national highway - why should heavy vehicles have to detour.
"GPS systems take them down there, and then it's too late and too hard to turn around."
He said better signage was needed but was not the total answer.
"For the immediate time Transport and Main Roads has a duty of care to warn prohibited vehicles of the road restrictions before it is too late to turn around.
"This needs to be an urgent priority for the safety of all road users before we have blood on our hands.
"These accidents will continue to happen without redesigning this section of the A1 Kennedy Highway."
![An oversize truck without a pilot travelling on the section of road in question, moving onto the wrong side of the road and with its trailer starting to cut into the corner. Picture supplied. An oversize truck without a pilot travelling on the section of road in question, moving onto the wrong side of the road and with its trailer starting to cut into the corner. Picture supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/88uitQDCBZnXA8enwGJ5Zd/27066639-e018-4c66-a23f-38298f6fe691.jpeg/r0_111_585_440_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Mr Knuth called for action from both state and federal governments, saying incidents like the one last week also caused massive delays for road users, and had a significant economic effect on local industries.
"Last week's truck rollover is another prime example as to why the government needs to upgrade this road," he said. "It is just fortunate that someone hasn't lost their life due to an accident on this section."
The road had to be closed for several hours on Tuesday last week, to lift the truck and trailer out.
Mr Kidner said the crusher it was carrying was too heavy to recover at the same time, which meant road users would once again be inconvenienced with traffic delays until a larger 250 tonne crane could be mobilised.
That would require a single trip permit from TMR, which Mr Kidner said had a wait time of about six weeks.
"The crusher will stay there until the permit is granted unless it can be fast tracked, where another full road closure will take place to recover the overturned crusher from the gully."