Fourteen new smart motorways will be removed from road-building plans due to cost pressures and a lack of confidence drivers feel, the UK’s Department for Transport.
Plans to build new smart motorways for vehicles and the road to interact in real-time have been scrapped by the government.
“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,” said Transport Secretary Mark Harper, according to a press release by the Department for Transport.
“Many people across the country rely on driving to get to work, take their children to school and go about their daily lives, and I want them to be able to do so with full confidence that the roads they drive on are safe,” said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The government and National Highways – a government-owned company that sets highway standards used by all four UK administrations – continue to invest £900 million in further safety improvements on existing smart motorways. As for existing smart motorways, they will continue to benefit from £900 million in safety improvements.
The EU, on the other hand, is going in the opposite direction.
Last year, the Council agreed to revise the Directive on the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems proposed by the European Commission.
This proposal aims to strengthen connected and automated mobility, on-demand mobility applications, and multimodal transport. Trilogues are expected to take place once the EU Parliament has adopted its position.
(Sofia Stuart Leeson | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
