M32 Bristol: 40 & 60mph limits J1 to J3 from 11 Nov

From 11 November 2025, the M32 in Bristol will carry permanent 40mph and 60mph limits between junctions 1 and 3. The change sits in a statutory instrument, The M32 Motorway (Junctions 1 to 3) (40 and 60 Miles Per Hour Speed Limits) Regulations 2025, made on 15 October and laid before Parliament on 20 October. It’s the formal route ministers use to set rules on motorways, and the listing for SI 2025/1102 appears on legislation.gov.uk’s new legislation page.

Let’s map the simple version first. There will be a 40mph limit in both directions across the Eastville Viaduct area, and a 60mph limit on the southbound approach to the viaduct from near Heath House Lane overbridge. In plain terms, if you’re heading into the city (southbound) from the M4 side, speeds step down from 70 to 60, then to 40 over the viaduct; heading out of the city (northbound), the 40mph applies across the viaduct section only. National Highways explained these distances during consultation.

If you want the exact points for classroom work, the 40mph section runs between a spot 83 metres north of the northern mechanical joint of Eastville Viaduct and a point 22 metres north of the centre of the Severn Beach railway line overbridge. The 60mph section runs southbound only, from 30 metres south of the centre of Heath House Lane overbridge to that same point 83 metres north of the viaduct’s northern joint. These are the coordinates National Highways used in its consultation material, so you can reproduce them on a map.

What it means: Eastville Viaduct is an elevated 1.1km stretch around junction 2. National Highways says its 1970s geometry gives limited forward visibility and narrow hard shoulders, with closely spaced junctions creating a lot of lane‑changing. Those design realities support a lower permanent limit for safety and consistency.

Teacher tip: open a digital map of the M32. Drop pins at Heath House Lane overbridge, the Severn Beach railway overbridge, and both ends of Eastville Viaduct. Use a measure tool to mark 30 metres south of Heath House Lane overbridge, 83 metres north of the viaduct’s northern joint, and 22 metres north of the railway overbridge centre. Join your pins to sketch the 60mph and 40mph stretches. This turns legal text into a visual plan your class can test against roadside signs.

So, what is a statutory instrument? It’s a form of secondary legislation that lets the Secretary of State set detailed rules without passing a new Act. For motorways (known in law as “special roads”), section 17 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 gives the power to make regulations that include speed limits for particular lengths. That’s why changes like this sit in their own SI.

You’ll also see three milestones in every SI: “made”, “laid”, and “coming into force”. “Made” is the date the minister signs. “Laid” means the document is put before Parliament. “Coming into force” is the switch‑on date when the rule starts to apply on the road. For this instrument those dates are 15 October 2025, 20 October 2025 and 11 November 2025, which gives highway teams time to confirm signs and communications.

There’s an important safety backstop too. Regulation 4 of the instrument says that if a temporary restriction is in place under section 14 of the 1984 Act (for example, for roadworks or a risk to the public), that temporary limit takes priority over the permanent one. You might remember a 2024 temporary order that used the same reference points to manage an obsolete barrier risk-this is how those short‑term powers work.

Media literacy moment: who decides and who’s asked? For the M32, National Highways ran consultations in 2025 on making the 40mph limit permanent across the viaduct and extending a permanent 60mph southbound approach. The July 2025 consultation response confirmed the intention to proceed, anticipating the SI later in 2025-which is exactly what has now happened.

If you’re comparing with non‑motorway roads near your school, note the difference. Councils normally set local road limits using Traffic Regulation Orders guided by the Department for Transport’s “Setting local speed limits” advice. Motorways are different: because they’re special roads, ministers set limits by SI instead. This M32 case study shows that split neatly.

What happens if drivers ignore the new limits? Contravening a special‑road speed limit made under section 17 is an offence, as the legislation notes. In practice, you should expect signs and, where used, enforcement technology to match the legal limits; the safer approach is to read the limit on the ground and drive to the conditions.

Classroom extension: turn this into a civic‑literacy exercise. Ask students to write a short briefing for local residents that explains why the limits change at Eastville, using one map and three sentences. Encourage them to cite the source of law (legislation.gov.uk) and the consultation evidence (National Highways) in their own words. This builds habits we all need-checking the rule, finding the reason, and explaining it clearly.