Heavy vehicle regulator tightens Gundagai bridge and route restrictions

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator has closed the northbound Hume Highway bridge at Gundagai to oversize and overmass combinations wider than 3.6 m or heavier than 95 t, effective from publication. The measure is set out in the Heavy Vehicle Stated Maps – Network Suspension and Amendment Notice 2026 (No.19), made under the Heavy Vehicle National Law and published in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 5 November 2026. The same instrument adds a permit condition at a Victorian level crossing where a fatal incident occurred last year and rewrites heavy vehicle access in New South Wales and Queensland.

The notice amends stated networks for vehicles on the Regulator’s own initiative. It was made under section 175, which permits immediate suspension or amendment of routes to prevent or minimise serious harm to public safety or significant damage to road infrastructure, and under section 173, which allows cancellation or amendment on the Regulator’s initiative. Section 5 states that the notice applies in all participating jurisdictions.

Commencement runs on two tracks: suspensions and amendments falling under section 4(1)(a) take effect immediately upon publication, while cancellations or amendments under section 4(1)(b) commence 28 days after publication. The notice is dated 5 November 2026 and signed by Jose Arredondo, Manager Network Access Policy at the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.

Gundagai bridge restricted and Molong street closed

Two changes are recorded for Transport for New South Wales. Northbound travel on the Hume Highway at Gundagai is suspended for combinations that exceed 3.6 m in width and/or 95 t gross combination mass; affected vehicles are barred from the northbound bridge and must contraflow over the southbound bridge. The stated reasons are structural concerns identified in the latest bridge inspection and signposted works under way, with the condition changed to reflect current road conditions.

A second entry adds a restriction to Wellington Street, Molong, between Edward Street and the Mitchell Highway, with no B-double access on the GML 23 m B-double routes and the GML 25/26 m B-double routes. The Regulator states that the map change reflects the signs currently in place at the location.

Victoria adds permit rule at Corio crossing

For Victoria, the Department of Transport and Planning gains an added condition at the level crossing on St Georges Road, Corio, applying across the following networks:

• PBS Level 3A general freight and volumetric reference vehicles from 73.0 t to 113.5 t
• Victoria’s 59.5 t low loader networks (2.4–3.5 m and over 3.5 m gross combination weight)
• Victoria’s 77 t over 3.5 m low loader network

Combinations longer than 26 m must obtain permission to traverse all rail crossings, applied for online through ODL Permits under the department’s Heavy Vehicle Consent – Structural Engineering team. The reason given is uneven terrain at the crossing and the risk of vehicles becoming stranded; the notice records that such an incident occurred last year and resulted in a fatality.

Queensland removes Bostock Road access

Toowoomba Regional Council loses heavy vehicle access to Bostock Road between Lemontree Road and Pampas-Horrane Road on three networks:

• RT1 route (Road Train Type 1 network)
• B25/26 route (B-double 25 m/26 m network)
• HML route (Higher Mass Limits network)

The Regulator cites the condition of the existing pavement, which it says makes the route unsuitable for heavy vehicle access. Access to LemonTree Feedlot is maintained through the updated mapping and the state-controlled network.

Objections and impact

Section 7 of the notice gives any person affected by the action the right to make a written representation to the Regulator within 14 days of publication, setting out why the amendment should not be made — a window that closes on 19 November 2026. For operators, the immediate consequence is that oversize and overmass movements through Gundagai must be re-routed to the southbound carriageway at once, while long combinations bound for Victorian rail crossings at Corio need a permit before travel and Queensland road train, B-double and higher mass limit operators lose a local access leg at Toowoomba.

Source: Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, Government Notices, 5 November 2026, pp. 1–4 (official reference: C2026G00720).