A £164 million smart motorway has been put on hold after a report revealed 38 people had been killed on similar roads in recent years.

Works have been ongoing for more than a year to convert a section of the M23 near Crawley into a highway with no hard shoulder and variable speed limits .

But Highways England announced a new smart motorway would not be opened on the road until a Government review of the plans was completed.

A BBC Panorama investigation found 38 people have been killed on similar highways in the last five years.

Smart motorways were introduced to increase capacity on roads by using electronic signs to direct drivers on to the hard shoulder if an extra lane is needed.

But some say this leaves commuters with nowhere to go if they break down.

“I have been concerned about this quote-unquote “upgrade” for a long time, especially the fact refuges were being placed too far away from each other,” said Crawley MP Henry Smith.

“I have always been sceptical of removing the hard shoulder and the evidence suggests this has caused a big increase in accidents.

“It’s always seemed not right to sacrifice safety for extra capacity and I was concerned about losing the hard shoulder.”

Philip Gomm of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation said the pause was “unarguable on safety grounds”.

“No-one underestimates the complexity of these schemes but it does underline the need to get the design right first time,” he said.

And Labour transport spokesman Karl Turner branded smart motorways “death traps”.

“The Secretary of State has the power to scrap these dangerous motorways now, so will he stop this dither and delay, and act now?” he said.

A Highways England spokesman said roadworks on the M23 would continue.

But the smart motorway would not be opened until the Government review into the policy was finished.

“Any death on our roads is one too many,” he said.

“The Transport Secretary has asked the Department for Transport to carry out, at pace, an evidence stock take to gather the facts.”