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<p>On 16 April 2023, the Government announced that all plans for new smart motorways
have been cancelled, recognising the lack of confidence felt by drivers and cost pressures.
This means no new smart motorways will be built.</p><p> </p><p>We are focused on investing
£900m to add further safety improvements to existing smart motorways, including constructing
over 150 extra emergency areas – so that people can continue to get around easily
and with increased confidence.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Restoring the hard shoulder while
maintaining capacity would be hugely disruptive, both for road users and local communities,
and come at a significant financial cost, and a potential impact on the overall safety
of the road network.</p><p> </p><p>Any reduction in capacity on our Strategic Road
Network could put more drivers and passengers at risk of death or serious injury by
forcing them on to less safe local roads.</p><p><strong> </strong></p>
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