Overview
- National Highways published 16 post-opening evaluation reports on February 6, assessing smart motorway schemes completed between 2013 and 2019.
- Of the 11 motorway schemes evaluated, only two were rated positively, with eight judged poor or very poor value for money.
- Two stretches—the M25 between junctions 23 and 27 and the M6 between junctions 5 and 8—were rated very poor value, with combined construction costs of £314 million in 2010 prices.
- The AA, RAC, and campaigners renewed calls to reinstate hard shoulders, citing safety concerns and noting worsening records on the M1 J39–42 and M3 J2–4a.
- National Highways and the Department for Transport said the roads remain safe and provide extra capacity, attributing weaker value scores to slower traffic growth than forecast.