The planned third Menai bridge will not go ahead and neither will the controversial "red route" in Flintshire.

The move is part of the Welsh government's National Transport Plan and follows a year-long review.

Environmental campaigners called it "world-leading and brave" but some in the construction industry warned the announcement could put jobs at risk.

It comes as the Welsh government is accused of endangering bus services as a senior minister said industry subsidies have yet to be confirmed beyond summer.

Plans for a third Menai crossing have been scrapped in their current form

The Welsh government said all future roads must pass strict criteria which means they must not increase carbon emissions, they must not increase the number of cars on the road, they must not lead to higher speeds and higher emissions, and they must not negatively impact the environment.

Vague and broad enough to mean, as the header says, all major road works will be banned.

Flintshire council leader Ian Roberts was disappointed by the decision.

"The council is concerned that there are currently no alternative solutions being put forward and no funding for much needed improvement works to local transport infrastructure," he said.

It comes as Ken Skates said Welsh government decisions on roads for the north should be made locally.

The Clwyd South Senedd member and former Welsh transport minister said certainty over how transport in north Wales would be improved was needed.

"I firmly believe that decisions over roads, buses, rail and active travel are best made at a regional level," he said.

"It's time to devolve to the north, beginning with our major roads."

A second Labour Senedd member questioned the move by his party.

Blaenau Gwent's Alun Davies called for "more joined up thinking" by ministers.

"If we're going to take services away from people in terms of distance, then what we have to be able to do is to provide the public transport options available for people to reach those services, and that hasn't happened," he added.

Indeed. You'll own nothing, go nowhere, and you'll be happy.

Deputy Minister for Climate Change Lee Waters told the Senedd the approach of the last 70 years was not working.

"We will not get to net zero unless we stop doing the same thing over and over," he said.

"None of this is easy but neither is the alternative."

To reach net zero by 2050, he said, the Welsh government must "be prepared to follow through".

The deputy minister insisted new roads would be built in future, but said the government was "raising the bar" to ensure any new road was "the right response to transport problems".

In 2021, the Welsh government announced it was conducting a roads review.

An expert panel, led by transport consultant Lynn Sloman, assessed 59 road projects and made recommendations on which projects to proceed with, which to abandon and which to reconsider in a different form.

Of these, 15 will go ahead, but all the rest have been rejected or will be revised.

A decaying infrastructure will inevitably leads to accidents and will hinder all other kinds of progress and development.

However, these and all future projects must adhere to a new set of strict criteria in order to be built.

The Welsh government will not consider new projects unless they reduce carbon emissions and support a shift to public transport, walking and cycling, improve safety through small-scale change and help the Welsh government adapt to the effects of climate change.

They must also provide connections to jobs and areas of economic activity in a way that maximises the use of public transport, walking and cycling.

Cycling to work in the UK, on a rainy day, mid-winter...

[...]

"If we want people to walk, wheel, or cycle alongside using public transport, we need continued investment in improving infrastructure that supports that."

On Twitter, Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies said: "Labour ministers in the Senedd won't build new roads in Wales because they'll 'induce demand'.

"Because encouraging more visitors to Wales and money into our economy is obviously a bad thing."

Plaid Cymru's Delyth Jewell said many of the areas where road building projects were being paused were already underserved by public transport links.

"We, of course, have to change that over-reliance on cars, but it won't happen overnight. It's the transition period that I'm most concerned about," she said.

She said a pause in road building without more guaranteed investment in public transport could mean longer journeys, increased travel costs and reduced access to important services.

Liberal Democrat leader, Jane Dodds, welcomed the announcement.

She said: "For too long, we've spent millions on new roads with no real improvements in road safety or congestion."