Concerns have been raised that the multi-million pound bill for Norwich's Northern Distributor Road could still grow - because compensation tor landowners is still being settled.
Nearly five years after the road fully opened in 2018, Norfolk County Council admitted it cannot say with certainty whether the final bill will come in within the project's £205m budget.
That is because County Hall is still paying compensation to owners of land acquired so the 12.5 mile road, which stretches from the A47 junction at Postwick to the A1067 Fakenham Road, could be built.
The latest deal saw Martin Wilby, the Conservative-controlled council's cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure, give the go-ahead for the authority to pay just over £250,000 in compensation for just over five acres of land.
That was awarded to a couple whose land between Fir Covert Road and Marriott's Way was compulsory purchased by the authority because it was needed to build the road.
Their holding was among 73 separate sections of land - totalling nearly 300 acres - the council has acquired at a cost of £8.2m, including fees.
And there are still 32 further cases yet to be legally completed.
Terms have been reached over 20 of them - totalling 645 acres of land, but in 12 other cases, for a further 102 acres of land - compensation has yet to be agreed.
The council says it included a 'land budget' of £18.7m in its last budget for the scheme.
But the latest total of approved payments already stands at about £18m, which includes all completed acquisitions, those agreed and those currently with solicitors, as well as fees.
It also includes advance payments already made to the landowners whose deals are not yet complete - which will make up part of the final settlements.
The council says it is not unusual for land acquisitions for projects of the NDR's scale to take some years to resolve.
But opposition politicians have questioned whether the scheme will go over the £205m budget, which had already been increased a number of times since the original estimate.
And they say it does not bode well for how much the NDR's extension - the mooted Norwich Western Link - could end up costing.
Steve Morphew, leader of the opposition Labour group at the county council, said the price tag of the NDR had already soared from the council's original estimates from a decade ago and feared it will go up further.
He said: "Five years after opening and still no final cost suggests £205m may well be exceeded."
Mr Morphew said he feared repeats of "protracted financial pain" when it comes to the Western Link, which would connect the NDR to the A47 to the west of Norwich.
This summer, the council said more than £50m had been added to the cost of that road, increasing its price tag to £251m.
Liberal Democrat councillor Dan Roper said: "It is of concern that there is so much 'unfinished business' with compensation claims more than four years since the road opened. It will be completely unacceptable if the road now goes over budget."
Green county councillor Jamie Osborn said: "The Labour and Conservative politicians who were responsible for the NDR should apologise to the Norfolk taxpayers who are now having to pick up the bill.
"And the NDR's catastrophic legacy should serve as a lesson to the current Conservative council leaders, who are intent on repeating their mistakes by pushing ahead with the Norwich Western Link."
The county council view
A spokesman for Norfolk County Council said it was too soon to say whether the NDR's £205m budget would be exceeded.
The spokesman said: "The budget remains as agreed by cabinet - at £205m.
"Until the final claims are resolved it is difficult to say whether this will need to change, but any change to the budget would be reported to cabinet."
Council cabinet member Mr Wilby said the NDR was worth the money and that the Western Link will be also be a "vital piece of infrastructure for Norfolk".
He said: "We are working through our payments with landowners on the NDR, but the road is working really well. It is bringing a lot of investment into the county and is saving people on their journey times."
Mr Wilby said the Western Link would take traffic off smaller roads, cut accidents, support the economy and encourage growth.
However, the scheme is opposed by groups such as Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Norfolk Rivers Trust, the Campaign To Protect Rural England, Stop The Wensum Link and The Bat Conservation Trust.
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