The building of new smart motorways in England is being cancelled, the government has announced.
The Department for Transport had said the new schemes would have cost more than £1bn, and cancelling them would allow time to track public trust in smart motorways over a longer period.
Smart motorways are a stretch of road where technology is used to regulate traffic flow and ease congestion. However, there have been growing concerns over these roads - which involve the hard shoulder being converted into a running lane – because of several fatal accidents in which stationary vehicles were hit from behind.
“We want the public to know that this government is listening to their concerns," said transport secretary Mark Harper. “Today’s announcement means no new smart motorways will be built, recognising the lack of public confidence felt by drivers and the cost pressures due to inflation.”
The motorways affected by the ban include 11 that are already paused...