The UK government has decided to scrap all plans for new “smart motorways,” citing financial pressures and safety concerns.
Fourteen planned smart motorways—including 11 that are already paused and 3 earmarked for construction—will be removed from the government’s road building plans, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced on Saturday.
Around 10 percent of England’s motorway network is made up of so-called smart motorways, which were developed to increase capacity without having to add extra traffic lanes.
They use technology to shut and slow lanes in response to accidents and breakdowns, freeing up the emergency hard-shoulder lane to be flexibly used for regular traffic when needed….