How £62m of taxpayer money was wasted on smart motorways that were never built

17 comments

1. Scrapping the last government’s controversial [smart motorway programme ](https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/i-got-stranded-on-a-70mph-smart-motorway-for-25-minutes-it-was-terrifying-3108805?srsltid=AfmBOor95BlKMdS52M2pwP0U_vxj8VhH9Cuxrsb1H9fb5IRlTkg_1Sy7?ico=in-line_link)cost taxpayers £62m, **i** can reveal.

   Plans for 14 smart motorways were abandoned in April 2023 following growing [safety concerns](https://inews.co.uk/news/how-safe-are-the-uks-smart-motorways-the-claims-fact-checked-3018244?srsltid=AfmBOor_ddvk1NIiugugxM5Nu6M2uyONvcSPoHc0I2fAO6Wx7VubXnKn?ico=in-line_link) after a spate of [fatalities were linked to the roads](https://inews.co.uk/news/widow-death-trap-smart-motorways-scrapped-2259395?srsltid=AfmBOoo2xOkeCFU8eWYZyDoh5ZW_2dQAvAD3pJO3h1YQCh9u_ojUxPbx?ico=in-line_link).

   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](https://inews.co.uk/news/no-plans-rip-smart-motorways-ban-building-new-ones-says-minister-2277918?srsltid=AfmBOooVrXgkKcNNXRNaRA8ac4Wg-S9JKzlEX_9vfZtXybAhFEvjMZvh?ico=in-line_link). 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](https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/no-new-smart-motorways-planned-concerns-safety-cost-2257652?ico=in-line_link) to build any more smart motorways after it recognised the “lack of public confidence felt by drivers and cost pressures”.

2. It’s somewhat depressing that after the last few years when I hear of a £62m loss I think ‘is that all?’.

3. ““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”.”

   So at least the information/work is already done for when a subsequent govenrment inevitabily starts the scheme again? Or will it be destroyed?

4. Now they’re paying out in an attempt to make the ones built (M1 j16-19) safer

5. Smart motorways were never smart in the first place.

   When you’re driving on the M1 and there’s a 40mph limit in place despite no other cars being in sight you realise that we’ve essentially burned money that could have gone to something more important like health and social care.

6. M27 took about 3 years, they’d just finished when they had to start all over again and undo it. It’s gridlocked in the morning again, the crews must be furious at having to destroy their own work

7. Pretty much every smart motorway is now covered in road works so they can add a hard shoulder back in all the way along their length

   Absolute scam played on the taxpayers

8. £62m wasted isn’t even a shocking headline anymore. Hell if they’d said £20bn I wouldn’t even be that surprised. Useless cunts. Imagine how much lower our tax burden would be if these inept dickheads actually got value for tax payer funds. Imagine a world like that.

9. A huge chunk of the M1 is now a more or less permanent 50mph zone. The reason for this is after they upgraded it to a smart motorway they removed the hard shoulder.

   Now they need to add several places for vehicles to pull over in an emergency.

   For seemingly no reason at all this means the entire left lane needs to be coned off 24/7. On top of this, they barely work on it despite signs saying they work day and night on it.

   Here is the best part I’ve saved till last! So you know how it’s a smart motorway meaning it has cameras and signs that can show a speed limit?

   So you’d think they’d use that functionality to set the speed limit right? And even make it only apply when they are actually working?

   Nope! They just turned all the smart motorway functionality off and threw 50 signs all over and that’s that AND another set of cameras.

   What a monumental waste of money and common sense.

10. I think I saw Labour are already kind of leaning this way with the covid fund recovery commissar, but my fucking god there really needs to be a big investigation into how many projects like this there have been over the last 5-10 years where we have spent just absolutely stupid sums of money to get basically nothing. The amount of wastage that seems to now suddenly be being reported on now the Tories are out is bloody shocking.

11. When you analyse the cost of physically carrying out the work, ie materials plus plant, labour etc you can see how much the consultancy’s involved and project management are riding the state for all its worth!

12. It’s dangerous enough to have a car break down on the hard shoulder, I can’t imagine the terror of it happening in the lane with no refuge near.

13. And the people getting killed after breaking down on the ones that were built. Absolute shit show

14. I was waiting for Grant Shapps and the head of Highways England to be charged with corporate manslaughter. They were being told by Police Commissioners, coroners, and accident victims that “smart” motorways were unsafe and would definitely contribute to more deaths.
    They continued to rollout more stretches of dumb motorways regardless.

15. I’m sure they’ve wasted even more on the ones that they did build. They are such a terrible idea.

16. The main problem I find with a ‘smart’ motorway is when it reduces the speed I spend more time checking my speedo than I do the road. Knowing you can be fined for going over the speed limit at any point makes you more worried about the money you could lose than your immediate surroundings

17. Remember that time the government didn’t waste a ton of money on a scheme that didn’t work? … Me neither