Captain Cook Highway

The Captain Cook Highway is a short, regional highway in Queensland that originates in Cairns and terminates in Mossman, where it joins Mossman-Daintree Road, continuing to Daintree. It is a state-controlled regional road (number 20A).

The highway is used to connect the CBD of Cairns to the Northern Beaches, a collection of suburbs that comprise the northern section of Cairns. It is also used by many tourists travelling to the town of Port Douglas, north of Cairns. Apart from being a link between two tourist locations, the Captain Cook Highway is a scenic highway that winds alongside the coast of the tropical seaside rainforest heading towards Port Douglas and Daintree National Park.

Route description
The Captain Cook Highway commences at the northern end of the Bruce Highway (Mulgrave Road), in the Cairns CBD. It runs through the CBD and the suburbs of Cairns North and Aeroglen as Sheridan Street, with a speed limit of 60km/h. In this section, it intersects with Airport Drive, providing a connection to Cairns Airport. After the intersection with Aeroglen Drive, the northerly and southerly directions of the highway become separated by a median and the speed limit increases to 80km/h. It runs as National Route 1 north past the suburbs of Machans Beach, Holloways Beach, and Yorkeys Knob, until it reaches the intersection of the Cairns Western Arterial Road towards the Redlynch Valley.

As of 25 November 2021, the highway branches off from this intersection onto the Smithfield Bypass (now renamed Kudakai Crossland Connection); a two-lane highway which follows a path to the east of the Smithfield business centre. This was constructed at a cost of $164 million.

The original route continues north to the intersection of the Kennedy Highway in Smithfield, next to the Smithfield Shopping Centre. From this intersection, the highway continues north to the intersection of McGregor road, next to James Cook University, where it joins with the Smithfield Bypass. The two routes recombine and continue north as State Route 44 past the suburbs of Trinity Park, Trinity Beach, Kewarra Beach, Clifton Beach, Palm Cove, and Ellis Beach. It then continues along the coast through Wangetti, Craiglie and Killaloe, then west between Bonnie Doon in the north and Cassowary and Shannonvale in the south, where it passes the exit to Mossman-Mount Molloy Road (State Route 44) to the south, before turning north-west to its terminus in Mossman.

History
The highway was closed in December 2023 after heavy rain caused landslips, debris and significant damage. Reopening occurred on the 20 January 2024.

Upgrade planning
A project to analyse options for upgrading a section of road from Poolwood Road roundabout to Endeavour Road, at a cost of $620,000, was to be completed by mid-2021.

Upgrade construction
A project to upgrade the road between Cairns and Smithfield, at a cost of $359 million, was expected to commence construction in June 2022.

Mossman–Mount Molloy Road
Mossman–Mount Molloy Road is a state-controlled district road (number 653). It starts at an intersection with Captain Cook Highway (State Route 44) at the Bonnie Doon, Cassowary, Shannonvale tripoint. It runs south as State Route 44, for 28.4 km to, where it ends at an intersection with Mulligan Highway. The road has no major intersections.