A section of the Bass Highway west of Devonport will soon have a lower speed limit following pressure from local councils and the community.
The Commissioner for Transport has approved reducing the speed limit on a 1.6km stretch from 110km/h to 90km/h.
The change applies to the section of highway between the Short Street and Braddons Lookout Road intersections at Leith.
The decision follows ongoing monitoring of the highway since safety upgrades were made at the two intersections in 2023.
“While the crash history at this location is relatively low, the severity can be high,” the commissioner said.
“Most of the serious crashes that have occurred at the two junctions have involved vehicles turning right, out of the side roads, failing to identify a safe gap in the traffic.”
A recent crash of this type at the Short Street intersection in January resulted in minor injuries.
Authorities say the reduced speed limit will “not have a significant impact” on travel times, adding only about 12 seconds to a journey.
The new limit is also consistent with other sections of the Bass Highway, such as those near Chasm Creek and Heybridge.
The change will come into effect later this week once new speed limit signs are installed.
