Welsh Government has been accused of abandoning a pre-election pledge on A55 investment after announcing all new road-building projects will be stopped while its new climate change ministry conducts a wide-ranging review.
Deputy Climate Change Minister Lee Waters announced the review in the Senedd on Tuesday afternoon, saying it is a necessary part of Wales' effort to reduce carbon emissions.
In North Wales it puts a pause on the roundabouts removal scheme at Llanfairfechan and Penmaenmawr, Deeside's Red Route, and plans for a third Menai crossing.
The move has had its supporters - including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg - but also sparked concerns from business groups and opposition politicians about the impact on the economy.
Prior to the Senedd election in May, Labour's Transport Minister at the time Ken Skates said the party is committed to the investment needed for it to go on supporting the economy and communities in the region.
He cited the three projects now on pause as examples of planned future investment.
Now transport has been subsumed into the new climate change ministry and these schemes hang in the balance.
Shadow Minister for North Wales Darren Millar MS said they had "abandoned" their pre-election pledge but Welsh Government said the pause and review did not mean it was abandoning road infrastructure.
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Mr Millar said: "Labour promised hundreds of millions in investment in our key roads across North Wales prior to the recent Senedd elections yet now they've abandoned that pledge and broken their promise.
"'This is a very short-sighted decision which will undermine our economy.
"Roads are essential in delivering prosperity across the region and with fossil fuel glugging cars being phased out and replaced with electric vehicles roads are no longer the environmental enemy that some would make them out to be.
"Spending on big ticket infrastructure projects is just the kind of investment that North Wales needs right now as we seek to rebound from the pandemic."
Ashley Rogers, commercial director, North Wales Mersey Dee Business Council, said: "Our roads are an essential element of the infrastructure that keeps our economy running and ongoing investment in that infrastructure is key.
"However all major investments need to have strong business cases that balance a number of areas including traffic forecasts, productivity improvements, reductions in congestion and air pollution as well as impacts on biodiversity and the overall net carbon emissions of a particular scheme.
"There should also be options appraisals on any project, that include alternative investment in public transport to solve an issue within the same time frame.
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"The decision to move ahead with major projects is considerably more difficult now given the uncertain impact of long term changes to working patterns because of the pandemic.
"These changes could alter business cases substantially and therefore it is wise to as swiftly as possible re-evaluate planned investments.
"However the announcement of those reviews or re-evaluations needs to be accompanied by their start, finish and final decision dates.
"Our businesses across the region need certainty on major investments now more than ever and it’s only right and proper that where planned projects are to be reviewed our business community is given the full picture and not kept in the dark.”
North Wales MS Mark Isherwood said he was pleased the 'Red Route' had been paused and that he hoped it would now be cancelled.
However, he wanted to know how the Welsh Government plans to deal with the Welsh Government’s forecast traffic increase on the Flintshire corridor.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Since 1990, Welsh emissions have fallen by 31%.
"But to reach our statutory target of Net Zero emissions by 2050, we need to do much more. Transport makes up some 17 per cent of our total emissions and so must play its part.
"Yesterday’s announcement does not mean we are abandoning road infrastructure.
"This review will consider how we can move away from spending money on projects that encourage more people to drive and spend more money on maintaining our roads and investing in real alternatives that give people a meaningful choice.”