The speed limit on a stretch of Kidman Way has been upgraded to match the rest of the highway after a local council sought an increase to the 100km/h zone. 

From Thursday, 28 September, a 56-kilometre section of the highway south of Cobar will have a speed limit of 110km/hr, after a review from Transport for NSW. 



“The speed limit review assessed a number of factors including the geographical location, crash history, road geometry, road environment, road usage, adjacent development, traffic mix, traffic volumes and the number of access points,” Transport for NSW Regional Director West Allistair Lunn said. 

“The review found that Kidman Way had a low crash rate, good sight distances and wide clear zones that made it suitable for an increase to the speed limit.”

The change comes nine months after the NSW Government released their report on an inquiry into speed limits and road safety in regional NSW. 

As part of the report, a recommendation found that “local council requests to review speed limits need to be completed in a timelier manner” after the inquiry found that councils were waiting years for a decision to be made on speed limit change requests. 

In a Cobar Shire Council meeting last year, a councillor expressed that an increased speed limit for Kidman Way had been requested over 10 years ago. 

On Kidman Way, the new speed limit is expected to reduce travel times by three minutes. 

The review also investigated the popular idea of increasing the speed limit on highways in Western NSW such as the Barrier Highway, however it was concluded that an increase over 110km/h could only be investigated for roads with a 5-star safety rating. 

95 per cent of the rural and regional road network has been rated three stars or below under the Australian Road Assessment Program. 

Austroads has developed a national target of at least 80 per cent of roads will be 3-star or better by 2030.