Dozens of road building projects across Wales have been scrapped or amended by the Welsh Government, including the third Menai crossing linking Anglesey and the mainland.

 

Only 15 of 59 projects reviewed by an expert roads review panel will go ahead in their original form, with others scaled back, postponed or in some cases shelved.

The importance of a third Menai Strait crossing was highlighted by the recent closure of Menai Suspension Bridge. However, plans for a third bridge have been dropped by the Roads Review panel and have been replaced by a review into how to improve congestion and the resilience of the current bridges.

The panel, led by transport consultant Dr Lynn Sloman MBE, presented its findings to Welsh Government in September 2022 and they were made public today.

Going forward, the Welsh Government will only consider future road investment for projects that:

  • Reduce carbon emissions and support a shift to public transport, walking and cycling
  • improve safety through small-scale change
  • help the Welsh Government adapt to the impacts of climate change
  • provide connections to jobs and areas of economic activity in a way that maximises the use of public transport, walking and cycling

In developing schemes, the focus should be on minimising carbon emissions, not increasing road capacity, not increasing emissions through higher vehicle speeds and not adversely affecting ecologically valuable sites.

Speaking in the Senedd, Deputy Climate Change Minister Lee Waters said: “When we published the Wales Transport Strategy two years ago, we committed to start upon a llwybr newydd – a new path.

“The publication of this Roads Review, along with the National Transport Delivery Plan, and our new Roads Policy Statement, represents a major step forward on that journey.

“Let me be very clear at the outset, we will still invest in roads. In fact, we are building new roads as I speak – but we are raising the bar for where new roads are the right response to transport problems.

“We are also investing in real alternatives, including investment in rail, bus, walking and cycling projects.

“Of course, doing that in an age of austerity is very challenging. Not only are we not getting our share of HS2 investment, but the UK Government is pushing many bus services over a cliff edge, as well as slashing our capital investment budgets.

“Even if we’d wanted to keep progressing all the road schemes in the pipeline we just do not have the money to do so. Our capital budget will be 8% lower next year in real terms as a result of the UK Government’s failure to invest in infrastructure.

“With fewer resources it becomes even more important to prioritise and the Roads Review helps us to do that.

“Our approach for the last 70 years is not working.

“As the review points out the by-pass that was demanded to relieve congestion often ends up leading to extra traffic, which in time brings further demands for extra lanes, wider junctions and more roads.

“Round and round we go, emitting more and more carbon as we do it and we will not get to Net Zero unless we stop doing the same thing over and over.

“When Julie James and I took up our new roles, we made clear that in this decade Wales has to make greater cuts in emissions than we have in the whole of the last three decades combined.

“Greater cuts in the next ten years than the whole of the last 30 – that’s what the science says we need to do if we are to future-proof Wales.

 “The UN General Secretary has warned that unless we act decisively now we face a ‘climate catastrophe’.

“If we are to declare a Climate and Nature Emergency, legislate to protect the Well-being of Future Generations, and put into law a requirement to reach NetZero by 2050 – we simply have to be prepared to follow through.”

Fuming

Rhun ap Iorwerth, Member of the Senedd for Member of the Senedd for Ynys Môn, said on Facebook: “Labour government’s Road Review halts Third Menai Crossing plans. I’m fuming.

“There’ll be work to ‘- develop options’ as part of a wider review. But this is a major setback. I will keep building the case.

“I will work on a detailed post explaining where I think the Roads review have got it wrong – when you read it all adds up to supporting the crossing on grounds of safety, resilience, active travel and public transport etc… and then it recommends pulling the plug.”