Critics of the Western Link have claimed "the writing is on the wall" for the controversial scheme after a minister's "less than enthusiastic" comments on the road.
Roads minister Richard Holden, whose department has yet to decide whether to back the project and contribute 85pc of its £251m cost, said the amount Norfolk County Council wants from the government "is not to be sniffed at".
And he said the Department for Transport needs to ensure the 3.9-mile road, which would connect the Northern Distributor Road to the A47 west of Norwich, was a good use of taxpayers' cash.
Mr Holden said: "They [the county council] are asking us to put in £231m, which is not to be sniffed at or thrown around lightly.
"It's going through our processes at the moment. Norfolk has got a good track record of working with central government and I want to make sure taxpayers' money is well spent.
"I am hoping it won't be too long before I can come back with further news."
The council has had to pause plans to lodge a planning application for the road, amid the government's delay in confirming if it will back the project.
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It is almost two years since the council submitted an outline business case for the road.
And Steve Morphew, leader of the opposition Labour group at the county council, said: "The minister's less than enthusiastic remarks fuel my view that the council is putting off the decision to abandon the scheme until after the forthcoming elections. It looks like the writing is on the wall."
Graham Plant, the council's cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, previously said he remained committed to getting the Western Link - long a priority of his administration - built, despite the delay.
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