Plans for new smart motorways in UK scrapped amid concerns about safety and cost

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says public has lost confidence in road proposal

Plans for 14 new stretches on England's motorways, comprising 11 that are paused and three earmarked for construction, will be scrapped. PA

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has scrapped plans to build new smart motorways amid concerns about safety and cost.

Mr Sunak said the public has lost confidence in the roads, which were introduced in 2006 and replaced the hard shoulder with an extra traffic lane to cut congestion.

About 10 per cent of England's motorway network is made up of smart roads. But plans for 14 new stretches, including 11 that are paused and three earmarked for construction, will be dropped.

Construction of the roads would have cost more than £1 billion.

The building of two smart motorways at junctions six to eight of the M56, which serves Cheshire and Greater Manchester, and 21a to 26 of the M6 — which runs from the Scottish Borders to the English Midlands — will continue as they are more than three quarters complete.

Operational smart motorways will also remain, but be subject to a safety refit so there are 150 more emergency stopping places across the network.

Smart motorways involve various methods to manage the flow of traffic, such as converting the hard shoulder into a live running lane and variable speed limits.

But there have been long-standing safety fears following fatal incidents in which vehicles stopped in live lanes without a hard shoulder were hit from behind.

Drivers Jason Mercer and Alexandru Murgeanu were killed in 2019 when their vehicles were hit by a lorry on the M1 near Sheffield after they stopped on the inside lane of the smart motorway section following a minor collision.

“All drivers deserve to have confidence in the roads they use to get around the country,” said Mr Sunak, who vowed to ban smart motorways during his Conservative Party leadership campaign last summer.

“That's why last year I pledged to stop the building of all new smart motorways, and today I'm making good on that promise.

“Many people across the country rely on driving to get to work, to take their children to school and go about their daily lives, and I want them to be able to do so with full confidence that the roads they drive on are safe.”

Campaigners welcomed the move to scrap new stretches, but demanded the government now return the hard shoulder on conversions in operation.

In January 2022, the government paused the expansion of motorways where the hard shoulder is used as a permanent live traffic lane.

This was to enable five years of data to be collected to assess whether they are safe for drivers.

Pressure had been mounting on the government to scrap the routes, which have been criticised by MPs and road safety campaigners, including the RAC and AA.

Campaigner Claire Mercer, Mr Mercer's widow, welcomed the government's move but pledged to continue pushing for the hard shoulder to return on every road.

“It's great, it's very good news," she said.

“I'm particularly happy that it's been confirmed that the routes that are in planning, in progress, have also been cancelled. I didn't think they'd do that.

“So it's good news, but obviously it's the existing ones that are killing us. And I'm not settling for more emergency refuge areas.

“So it's half the battle, but we've still got half the battle to go.”

Sarah Champion, the Labour MP for Mr Mercer's Rotherham constituency, said she was relieved the government had taken action but called for details of the plans going forward.

“Will the government be returning the hard shoulder on existing conversions? Will the schemes currently in construction be restored?" she said.

"Why now, when two parliamentary select committee inquiries, their own review and countless campaigns by family members of those who died on these death traps wasn't enough to persuade them.”

AA president Edmund King said: “We have had enough coroners passing down their deadly and heartbreaking judgments where the lack of a hard shoulder has contributed to deaths.

“At last the government has listened, and we are delighted to see the roll-out of 'smart' motorways scrapped …

“We would also like to see the hard shoulder reinstated on existing stretches in due course.”

RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams said his organisation's research showed smart motorways are deeply unpopular with drivers.

“It's now vitally important that plans are made for making the hundreds of existing miles of these types of motorway as safe as possible.”

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “We want the public to know that this government is listening to their concerns.

“Today's announcement recognises the lack of public confidence felt by drivers and the cost pressures due to inflation.”