Trucks Longer Than 17 Metres Banned From Turning at Kensington's Epsom Road
Long trucks will no longer be allowed to turn at a busy inner-city intersection, after the transport department decided the corner is too tight for them to take safely.
The restriction applies around the clock to the largest vehicles, and police and the national heavy vehicle regulator will enforce it. Shorter trucks and delivery vans are unaffected.
Image: Kensington, Victoria, by Sgroey via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What the ban covers
The Victorian Department of Transport and Planning has approved a 24/7 turning ban at the intersection of Kensington Road and Epsom Road in Kensington, within the City of Melbourne.
It applies to vehicles longer than 17 metres. A rigid truck is a single-bodied vehicle with no separate trailer section, so the restriction targets the longer articulated combinations rather than the standard delivery truck.
The restriction is expected to take effect in October. Once in place it will be enforced by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator and Victoria Police.
The approval was covered in detail by Big Rigs, which reports on the freight industry.
Why the intersection failed the review
A departmental review found the intersection was not wide enough for vehicles longer than 17 metres to turn safely.
Longer trucks turning at the corner were at risk of encroaching into adjacent lanes, according to that review. That creates hazards for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians sharing the junction.
A turning movement is different from a through movement in one important way. A truck crossing an intersection travels in a predictable line, while a truck turning sweeps a wide arc and needs room for the rear of the vehicle to follow.
What the data showed
Temporary traffic cameras will monitor the number of longer vehicles using the area before and after the restriction begins.
Council monitoring found the number of six-axle heavy vehicles using Kensington and Epsom roads had tripled compared with the same period in 2025. Six-axle vehicles are among the longest and heaviest on the road, which is why they are the group the restriction targets.
More than 1,000 residents signed a petition calling for tighter restrictions, as reported by The Melburnian.
Kensington Road currently carries about 64 large six-axle trucks a day. By comparison, Francis Street in the inner west carried around 2,500 large trucks daily before no-truck zones were introduced there.
That comparison matters because it shows the scale of the wider freight problem in the inner west. Kensington Road's daily count is a small fraction of what Francis Street carried before its own restrictions.
Where longer trucks should go instead
Vehicles longer than 17 metres travelling to or from the Dynon precinct have been advised to use the West Gate Tunnel via Footscray Road, Sims Street and Mackenzie Road.
The Dynon precinct is a freight and logistics area near the port and the rail yards, so trucks need a workable route rather than simply being turned away.
Alternatives include the West Gate Freeway via the Whitehall Street and Hyde Street ramps, travelling via Footscray Road and Dynon Road, or using CityLink and the Bolte Bridge.
What stays open
Kensington Road will remain open to general-access vehicles and essential deliveries. The ban removes a turning movement for the largest trucks, not access to the street itself.
The department confirmed no further heavy vehicle access changes are currently planned. It said it would keep monitoring traffic patterns after the West Gate Tunnel opened.
Authorities acknowledged the Kensington precinct is home to food wholesalers, manufacturers and logistics businesses that need reliable freight access. Those businesses rely on daily deliveries into and out of the area.
What the local council had sought
The approved turning restriction is narrower than the broader measures the local council had sought.
Those sought measures included a 24/7 truck ban on Kensington Road between Dynon Road and the Epsom and Macaulay roads intersection. The approved decision covers the turning movement rather than the whole street, so trucks may still travel along Kensington Road.
The wider no-truck zones
Since the West Gate Tunnel opened, 24/7 no-truck zones are in place on several inner-west streets. They cover Francis Street and Somerville Road in Yarraville, Buckley Street and Moore Street in Footscray, Hudsons Road in Spotswood and Blackshaws Road in Altona North.
A night-time and weekend no-truck zone also applies on Williamstown Road. Drivers who keep using a no-truck zone without an exemption may be fined approximately $600.
A no-truck zone differs from a turning ban. A no-truck zone bars trucks from a length of road entirely, while a turning ban removes one movement at a single intersection.
The freight industry response
The Victorian Transport Association pushed back on the toll-avoidance characterisation of the issue. It called for greater consultation with the freight industry.
The association represents trucking operators, and its position is that route changes need to be planned with the businesses that rely on them. The West Gate Tunnel changed the traffic mix on inner-west streets, which is why operators argue the routes need time to settle.
What it means for the neighbourhood
The change is a road-safety outcome first. The intersection was assessed as unsafe for the longest vehicles, and the approved measure removes that turning movement.
For residents, the effect shows up in the number of the largest trucks rumbling past homes and turning near the shopping strip. For freight operators, it means a different route into and out of the precinct.
The monitoring data will show whether the restriction reduces the volume of long vehicles on the two roads. Cameras running before and after give a direct comparison rather than an impression.
Readers can explore other parts of the state through the Victoria local guide.
Works Cited
Big Rigs. "New 24/7 Truck Turn Ban for Melbourne Intersection." Big Rigs, 10 Sept. 2026, https://bigrigs.com.au/2026/09/10/new-24-7-truck-turn-ban-for-melbourne-intersection/.
The Melburnian. "Truck Turn Bans Approved in Kensington After Community Campaign." The Melburnian, n.d., https://themelburnian.au/truck-turn-bans-approved-in-kensington-after-community-campaign/.
Sgroey. "Kensington 2." Wikimedia Commons, n.d., https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kensington_2.jpg.