Smart M-ways supremo quits his £456k job

The roads boss who oversaw the building of ‘death trap’ smart motorways is to quit his £456,000-a-year job.

Jim O’Sullivan’s exit was announced just three hours after safety improvements were confirmed for the controversial routes.

The highways chief executive’s £456,727 salary – three times that of the Prime Minister – makes him one of Britain’s top-paid civil servants.

Mr O’Sullivan has played down the risks posed by smart motorways – where the hard shoulder is removed to ease congestion – despite evidence they have caused dozens of deaths. he caused fury last year when he rejected calls to pause the £1.6billion programme, claiming building additional refuge lay-bys did not improve safety. Despite initially blaming most crashes on reckless drivers, he later admitted deaths had occurred because of delays to radar technology that can spot vehicles stranded in ‘live’ lanes.

he was awarded an inflationbusting £54,000 pay rise last year, including a performancerelated bonus of £51,727 and a £30,000 pension contribution.

Boris Johnson is paid £150,000 a year. The Mail has learned there were a series of tensions between MPs and Mr O’Sullivan over the failure to address problems with smart motorways.

however, it is understood he was not forced to quit.

The safety improvement plan includes installing radar on every existing stretch of smart motorway by 2023. emergency refuges will also be spaced no more than a mile apart. As part of a £27billion programme confirmed yesterday, transport bosses also announced plans for seven new stretches of smart motorway including parts of the M1 and M25. Mr O’Sullivan, who has been in the post since 2015, is to step down next year.

Although there is no suggestion he resigned from highways england (he) over smart motorways, the timing of the announcement has raised eyebrows among MPs.

In Scotland, plans are being considered for a smart M8 but critics have branded the proposal a ‘recipe for disaster’.

Police leaders described smart motorways as ‘death traps’ earlier this year after it emerged there had been 38 deaths in five years. The programme was halted in January and a safety review led to a commitment to increase the number of refuges.

In a statement yesterday, Mr O’Sullivan said he had ‘achieved great things’. he added: ‘I leave highways england well placed... that makes it a good time to step down.’