More than 80 miles of deadly smart motorways are to be opened – despite demands from MPs that the rollout be paused.
In contravention of Transport Secretary Grant Shapps’ safety guidelines, the routes will include emergency refuges no further than 1.5 miles from each other.
Mail learns that National Highways officials are not following the guidelines for approximately 84 miles smart motorways.
There are also 15 mile stretch of M4 between junctions 3, 8/9, and 15, and another 15 mile stretch of M27 between junctions 4, and 11.
There will be 17 miles between Junctions 13 and 15, but it will still have emergency laybys of up to 1.5 miles.
This is true for the 23-mile stretch of M1 that runs between junctions 13-16, and ten additional miles of M6 between junctions 21A to 26, and the four mile stretch of M56 between junctions 6, and 8.
Clair Mercer was the wife of Jack Gallowtree who died on a smart motorway. She said her husband’s death left her believing Grant Shapps lost control.
Following a review, the Transport Secretary said the refuges – where vehicles can pull in during an accident or breakdown – should be no more than a mile apart on roads without a hard shoulder.
Ideally, and where ‘feasible’, he said they should be three-quarters of a mile apart.
Last week an inquiry by the Commons transport committee also said emergency laybys should be ‘retro-fitted’ on all schemes so they are a ‘maximum’ of one mile apart.
National Highways, the agency responsible for smart motorways, says the new sections in question were designed before Mr Shapps’s review and so too early for his safety guidance to be included.
But Tory MP Karl McCartney said: ‘This latest decision to ignore the wishes of both the Transport Secretary and the transport select committee shows the contempt of the National Highways authority and their “we know best” mentality.
‘Maybe some of them, insulated in their ivory towers in London, could go and join those recovery vehicle operatives who have to work on smart motorways with no hard shoulder, or better still experience being stranded on any of our motorways in a live lane waiting too long for recovery and assistance.’
National Highways says the new sections of smart motorways in question were designed before Mr Shapps’s review and so too early for his safety guidance to be included
Jim McMahon, Labour’s transport spokesman, said: ‘If the Government continues to insist on ignoring calls from countless experts and campaigners to reinstate the hard shoulder while proper safety reviews are carried out – as Labour has repeatedly called for – ministers will find themselves having to explain to yet another bereaved family why they have simply shrugged their shoulders in response to mounting evidence.’
Claire Mercer, whose husband Jason was killed on a stretch of the M1 with no hard shoulder in 2019, said: ‘Grant Shapps has obviously lost control.
‘He recommended refuges be closer together and the committee report recommended it.’
National Highways’ smart motorways programme director, David Bray, said the roads agency was ‘looking at’ whether extra refuge areas could be installed, but gave no firm guarantees.
He said: ‘We have listened to drivers’ concerns about being able to find a safe place to stop in an emergency.
‘We are actively looking at where we can build additional emergency areas on motorways currently under construction.’