Construction of new smart highways has been canceled as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged safety and cost concerns.
Fourteen planned “smart” highways, including 11 already delayed and three planned for construction, are excluded from state road plans due to financial strain and a lack of public confidence.
Activists welcomed the move but urged the government to abandon existing reforms now.
The Department for Transport said the systems would cost more than £1 billion to build.
However, the agency added that the construction of two sections of the smart highway at junctions 6-8 of the M56 highway and 21a-26 of the M6 highway continues, as they are already more than three-quarters completed.
Existing routes will be preserved, but their safety will be adjusted so that 150 additional emergency stops will be installed on the network.
About 10% of the UK road network consists of smart motorways.
This includes various traffic flow management techniques such as B. Paved shoulder to active lane conversion and variable speed limits.
But safety concerns have long been raised in the wake of fatal accidents involving rear-end collisions in busy lanes without curbs.
In January 2022, the government halted freeway expansion using the paved shoulder as a permanent through lane.
It should be able to collect five years of data to assess whether they are safe for drivers.
During the Tory campaign last summer, Sunak vowed to ban them.
“All drivers deserve confidence in the roads they take to travel across the country,” the prime minister said.
“That’s why I made a commitment last year to stop building all new smart highways, and today I’m living up to that commitment.
“Many people across the country depend on driving to get to work, drive their children to school and go about their daily business, and I want them to be able to do this with complete confidence that the roads they drive on are safe. . safe.”
The government was pressured to roll back routes, drawing criticism from MPs and road safety campaigners, including the RAC and AA.
Activist Claire Mercer, whose husband was killed on a smart motorway in South Yorkshire, welcomed the government’s action but vowed to continue to put pressure on the roadside to turn back on every road.
She told the PA news agency: “This is great, this is very good news.
“I am particularly pleased that it has been confirmed that planned and current routes have also been cancelled. I didn’t think they would do it.
“So it’s good news, but obviously existing ones are killing us. And I won’t settle for more shelters.
“So that’s half the battle, but we still have half the battle ahead of us.”
Jason Mercer and another man, Alexandru Murgeanu, were killed in 2019 when they were hit by a truck on the M1 near Sheffield after coming to a stop after a light collision on the inner lane of a smart motorway section.
Sarah Champion, Labor MP for Mr Mercer’s constituency in Rotherham, said: “I’m glad the government is finally listening to motorists and common sense, but this announcement is long overdue and I need to see the details before I will celebrate
“The government will return to the existing reconstructions their edge? Will the facilities under construction be restored? Why now, when two parliamentary special commissions, their own assessments and countless campaigns by relatives of those who died in these deadly traps were not enough to convince them.
AA President Edmund King said, “We’ve had enough coroners delivering their deadly and heartbreaking verdicts when the lack of a crash lane contributed to the loss of life.
“Finally, the government has heard, and we are happy to see that the deployment of smart highways has stopped …
“We also want paved shoulder to be restored to existing routes in the long term.”
Transport Minister Mark Harper said: “We want the public to know that this government is listening to their concerns.
“Today’s announcement means no new smart highways will be built, in recognition of a lack of public confidence among motorists and price pressure due to inflation.”
Additional Press Association coverage
Source: I News
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