The ongoing wait to discover whether the government will award millions more on top of what it has already pledged for the £274m Norwich Western Link road is ringing 'alarm bells', it has been claimed.
But council leaders insist they are confident the Department for Transport will increase its agreed contribution to the bill for the controversial road from £213m to £251m, even though months have passed since that possibility was mooted.
The government approved Norfolk County Council's outline business case for the 3.9-mile road, to connect the Northern Distributor Road to the A47 west of Norwich, in October.
Whitehall agreed to provide 85pc of the previously estimated cost of the road - £213m. But civil servants left the door open to potentially provide 100pc, which would see the council given £251m.
However, since the council lodged its initial request for money, inflation has helped push the estimated cost to £274m and the council could have to borrow cash or dip into reserves to make up the shortfall.
At a recent meeting of the council's scrutiny committee, Green councillor Jamie Osborn quizzed members of the Conservative administration and officers about whether the extra government money would materialise.
Mr Osborn, who opposes the road, said: "They announced that in early October and we are three months down the line, but we still do not have the guidance or indication that money is there or not. That raises alarm bells with me."
But Andrew Jamieson, the council's deputy leader, said he was "confident" the government would provide £251m.
He said: "I am extremely confident this very important piece of infrastructure for the people of Norfolk will continue."
David Allfrey, the council's highway and major projects manager, said: "We are talking regularly with the Department for Transport and they are still concluding their internal processing, which means we have not got a timescale for when they will confirm, other than, hopefully, fairly soon."
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Liberal Democrat group leader Brian Watkins asked whether the £274m cost prediction could rise further.
Mr Jamieson said there was a £66m contingency included in that figure, which he said was based on "sensible and conservative" estimates around inflation and risk.
The council is due to submit plans for the road to its own planning committee in the next few months.
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