Norfolk County Council has revealed it is winding down work on the controversial Western Link road, amid growing fears that the route may never be built.
The 3.9-mile road, designed to link the A47 with the NDR to the west of the city, has been hailed as a council priority for several years.
But the authority - which says the route will help the local economy and reduce congestion - is still waiting for a pledge from the government that it will fund the £251m project.
Council officials have now announced they are planning to “reduce levels of activity” until it gets a firmer assurance.
Critics of the scheme - who argue it will be economically and environmentally damaging - say it is another sign that the scheme is doomed and should be scrapped now.
They have raised fresh fears over the costs, which they say are still mounting.
However, Graham Plant, cabinet member for transport, insisted the project remained on track and was still within budget.
“We were hoping to get this by now but the government is in a different place," he said.
“It’s not ideal but the scheme is so good, we can’t let it go – it would be wrong to let it go."
While construction has yet to start on the route, preliminary work has been under way.
But officials say this will now be slowed down, initially for three months but possibly longer.
Steve Morphew, leader of the Labour group, said: “Ironically the £40m so far spent on achieving nothing is about the council’s likely budget gap next year. When the scheme fails that £40m will add to the budget black hole.
“There is still no Plan B for those blighted by rat-running west of Norwich. That £40m could have been spent helping them."
Green councillor Jamie Osborn said: "After years pouring millions of pounds into the Western Link, the Conservative council has now run out of road on this project."
WIND DOWN
This is the first time since the project was first proposed seven years ago that officers have had to wind it down.
It has been two years since the authority submitted its initial Outline Business Case (OBC) asking for the money from the national government.
This was then amended in 2022 due to a route change and increased costs, triggered by the discovery of rare bats in the area.
A council official added: “We're still confident in terms of getting the funding, we think this is a timing issue.
"We’ve got a really strong business case, what we’re saying at the minute is we’re just kind of waiting for the government.”
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