New smart motorways BANNED by Prime Minister
manchestereveningnews.co.ukThe building of new smart motorways is being cancelled as Rishi Sunak acknowledged concerns about safety and cost. Fourteen planned smart motorways – including 11 that are already paused and three earmarked for construction – will be removed from government road building plans, given financial pressures and in recognition of the lack of public trust.
The Department for Transport said the construction of these schemes would have cost more than £1bn. But the department added that the construction of two stretches of smart motorway at junctions six to eight of the M56 and 21a to 26 of the M6 will continue as they are already more than three quarters complete.
Existing stretches will remain but be subjected to a safety refit so there are 150 more emergency stopping places across the network.
Around 10 per cent of England’s motorway network is made up of smart motorways. READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community They involve various methods to manage the flow of traffic, such as converting the hard shoulder into a live running lane and variable speed limits.
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