Scrapping the last government’s controversial smart motorway programme cost taxpayers £62m, i can reveal.
Plans for 14 smart motorways were abandoned in April 2023 following growing safety concerns after a spate of fatalities were linked to the roads.
The cost of tens of millions of pounds of public money wasted on roads that were never built was disclosed in a note contained in the Department of Transport’s recent annual report.
It stated: “The formal change in government policy triggered a constructive loss in Assets Under Construction (AUC) of £62m, in respect of planning and design costs pertaining to the conversion of hard shoulders to live running lanes.”
The £62m covered examining everything from road structure and drainage to lighting, signage and the technology that actually makes a motorway “smart”.
Smart motorways were supposed to ease traffic flow by allowing some hard shoulders to be used as an extra lane during busy periods. But after a number of deaths on these roads, the government was forced to act.
It initially paused the plan after a critical report from the Transport Select Committee, but then axed 11 planned new smart motorways and three earmarked for construction. These cancelled roads were part of an expansion plan originally proposed in 2020.
Last year, i was the first to reveal the Conservative government had abandoned plans to build any more smart motorways after it recognised the “lack of public confidence felt by drivers and cost pressures”.
After Rishi Sunak’s decision to abandon smart motorways, the government committed to a £390m “emergency area retrofit programme” that would see more than 150 additional emergency areas being added, although there are no plans for hard shoulders to return. On motorways that don’t have a permanent hard shoulder, these emergency areas will offer a place to stop if a driver cannot exit the motorway or stop at a motorway service area.
Road safety campaigners said the government could have saved millions if their warnings were listened to earlier.
Jack Cousens, head of road policy at the AA, said: “There are currently miles of ‘smart’ motorway where millions are being spent on retrofitting more emergency areas, which would’ve been cheaper if installed from the outset. Drivers simply want the return of the hard shoulder, and we hope the new government heed these calls.”
RAC head of policy Simon Williams echoed this view. He said: “All-lane-running smart motorways are deeply unpopular because drivers fear they will be left stranded with traffic hurtling towards them should something unexpected happen.”
Williams called on the new Labour government to clarify its position on plans to reintroduce hard shoulders on all motorways.
The history of smart motorways
Smart motorways were introduced by Highways England in 2006 to help make vehicles move safely on some of Britain’s busiest and most congested sections.
Smart motorways use a combination of variable speed limits, lane-control systems, and other technologies to ease traffic flow.
The three main types of smart motorways are: ‘all lane running’, where hard shoulders are removed; ‘controlled’, which have hard shoulders plus variable speed limits; and ‘dynamic’, where hard shoulders are sometimes open to traffic at busy times.
The first smart motorway scheme was used on the M42 in 2006, and was later extended to two sections of the M6 in Birmingham and parts of the M1, M4, M5, M6, M60 and M62.
Since they were introduced, at least 79 people have been killed on them and several coroners have called for them to be made safer.
Critics claim they are unsafe because if a vehicle breaks down, or if there is an accident, it can be left stranded and emergency services struggle to pass it.
In January 2022, the Government started a review into the cost and safety of the smart motorways and paused further construction work.
In April 2023, the Government announced plans for all new smart motorways will be cancelled due to serious concerns over safety.
Smart motorways have been removed from the Government’s future road-building plan and it is spending £900m on technology to make the existing network safer.
Brendan McFadden
He said: “We strongly urge the Government to honour its original commitment and convert all-lane running smart stretches to either controlled motorways, with hard shoulders permanently restored, or to dynamic hard shoulder schemes – where a hard shoulder is in place for much of the day and night.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson declined to comment.