Work on the Norwich Northern Distributor Road (NDR) will start later this month after county councillors agreed again to plug the funding gap.
At an extraordinary meeting at County Hall in Norwich this morning, 55 to seven councillors voted to use £10.4m from the highways budget to start building.
At the meeting, Norfolk County Council leader George Nobbs urged councillors to back the vision. He said: 'We cannot condemn Norfolk to a rural backwater of second homes and seasonal work.'
Stretching from the A47 at Postwick to the A1067 Fakenham Road, the decision over how to pay for the controversial £178.5m road did not pass without hiccups.
Vocal protesters in the public gallery were threatened with eviction and Green Party proposed an amendment to allow time for an investigation into a section of the road as well as deferring the council's decision on its investment.
That move was, however, thrown out, with Green Party member Andrew Boswell branding it bad value for taxpayers.
Afterwards Mr Nobbs said: 'This was a decisive vote. Council clearly accepts that Norfolk very much needs the NDR, that it still represents very good value for money, and there should be no delay.'
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