The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) have advised the following below (in italics) in response to requests for a 20-tonne limit to be placed on Kin Kin Road to restrict heavy haulage vehicles to/from the quarry in Kin Kin:
TMR cannot permanently stop trucks from travelling on the road. There is no lawful justification for TMR to implement a permanent restriction or mass limit on heavy vehicles on Kin Kin Road. This was confirmed through the Kin Kin Road (141) Engineering Review published on TMR’s website. A summary of this is provided below (from page 4), and the full review is available here: Kin Kin Road Engineering Review | Department of Transport and Main Roads (tmr.qld.gov.au).
The review confirmed that heavy vehicles currently using Kin Kin Road are classed as general access vehicles which do not require any special permit or permission to move on any state-controlled road in Queensland. It was found that although TMR has the ability under section 46 of the Transport Infrastructure Act 1994 (TIA) to impose temporary restrictions on the use of state-controlled roads to prevent damage or to ensure the safety of road users, these powers are typically only exercised after such things as flooding or other extreme weather events to preserve infrastructure and allow the road to dry out enough for remedial repairs to be undertaken.
Restrictions under the TIA were implemented three times in 2022 due to the impact of weather events on Kin Kin Road. While section 46 allows temporary restrictions to be placed on particular classes of vehicles or vehicles above a certain weight limit, TMR cannot apply restrictions to one business only (such as quarry trucks).
Furthermore, TMR does not make these decisions lightly during these events and must treat all road users equally and equitably. Any restriction applied would need to apply to all vehicles of that class or weight, which would have a broader impact on the whole community and there is no justification for this at this time.
Issues about the quarry operations and its trucks on Kin Kin Road are for Noosa Shire Council and the quarry operator, under its development approval and conditions.
In response to TMR’s road review, we are currently finalising a compilation of questions and comments from our office and those of Save Noosa Hinterland to TMR. Responses will be updated to Noosa 360 when recieved.
To contact TMR, please email northcoast@tmr.qld.gov.au or Noosa Council mail@noosa.qld.gov.au