RAC wants return of hard shoulders on motorways

MINISTERS are being urged to reinstate the hard shoulder on smart motorways.

The RAC issued the plea exactly a year after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled all future planned smart motorway projects, citing financial pressures and a lack of public confidence in the roads.

It is a day after the 10-year anniversary of the first stretch of a lane running (ALR) smart motorway – using the hard shoulder as a permanent live traffic lane – opening on the M25 in Hertfordshire.

ALR smart motorways increased capacity at a lower cost than widening roads.