The government discontinues the Smart Motorways programme

UNITED KINGDOM: The government's plans to build roads will no longer include three of the three projects scheduled to be built during the third Road Investment Strategy (2025 to 2030) and the eleven projects that have already been put on hold. (Reported by news source)

The M56 J6-8 and M6 J21a-26 will be finished because they are already more than three quarters built, but no additional roads will be turned into smart motorways.

Additionally, the government and National Highways have promised to keep investing £900 million in new safety upgrades for the current smart highways.

The government will also keep providing drivers with clear guidance when driving the current smart motorways. Initial calculations indicate that it would have cost more than £1 billion to build future smart highway systems.

According to reports, National Highways ordered its principal contractors to outline their anti-fraud and anti-corruption policies last year due to concerns about smart motorway projects and potential issues with large-scale road projects.