A new 3m-wide shared bike and walking path planned for a 2km stretch of Port Douglas Road is “shovel-ready” - as long as the Federal Government comes up with three quarters of the $2.57m price tag.

The new Douglas Shire Council path, planned for the stretch of road between the Mirage Resort roundabout and the Old Port Road turnoff, was approved in Friday’s full council meeting, subject to securing two separate federal grants.

Cr Michael Rees told the meeting the DSC would be doing well out of the deal if it paid 25 per cent of the bill, adding up to about $640,000 across three years. 

“I think this is great,” Mr Rees said.

“My understanding is councils would normally have to find half the money but we only have to find 25 per cent.

“So we’d be mad not to pursue this. This is a fantastic opportunity.”

The council aims to secure about $1.29m from the federal Active Transport Funding grant pool and about $640,000 from the Roads to Recovery Program, adding up to a total bill for the shared path of about $2.57m.

“All costs are distributed across three consecutive financial years (2025-2026 to 2027-2028),“ a report tabled in the meeting states.

The Council’s contribution will be funded through its existing footpath renewal program, with the full project aimed to be completed by mid-2029.