There's no relief in sight as financial spectre hangs over Shrewsbury's doomed roads project

That much was confirmed by Shropshire Council's new Liberal Democrat administration in its statement on Thursday.

The communication explained that all work on the plan was being stopped, with the council understandably unwilling to borrow to meet a potential £176m funding gap in the scheme.

The only reason the road has not been completely cancelled is because of the council's concerns about the financial cost of doing so.

What comes next are discussions over who meets the cost of the money the council has already spend on the project. Which is significant.

To explain, the council was awarded £54.4m by the government to build the road.

The council's previous Conservative administration, which had driven the project for a number of years, revealed ahead of May's election that £39m of that money has already been spent.

They were keen to point out that they understood the terms of the grant meant that if the council voluntarily cancels the road, then it has to pay back the money.

As anyone with even passing experience will tell you, the idea of Shropshire Council being able to find a spare £39m to pay the government back is the stuff of dreams.

Trapped in some sort of devil and the deep blue sea scenario the council's new administration has sought to persuade The Department for Transport to let the authority off - allowing it to cancel the road without the penalty of having to return the money already spent.

But, the Lib Dem announcement opened up an impending dilemma - highlighting that the government officials have said it will only discuss the the £39m spent, if the council first cancels the road.

With no guarantees it would be a brave council leader who chose to fully cancel the road, opening up the possibility of putting their own authority into financial dire straits.

To non-political people such a situation seems ludicrous, what kind of government asks a council to roll the dice on its financial future - and ultimately the wellbeing of its residents.

Sensible discussions are needed, with councillors able to take informed decisions on the potential impact on the authority.

In the mean time it's worth questioning how the cost of a road originally budgeted at £81m, is now predicted to cost as much as £215m.

It follows a modern trend of a seeming inability to build anything in this county on a budget. Regardless of your belief in the proposal, the HS2 example stands as a monument to English failure to complete modern infrastructure projects.

The escalating costs involved in such schemes are beyond the comprehension of most.

Turning to the money already spent there are questions over the way those costs have risen, and how the previous administration only revealed the current estimates at the very last opportunity.

Were the public aware of the exact rising costs there may have been more pressure to step in before £39m was spent.

While people will readily point out that the £39m was only available for this project, it remains galling when you consider what that amount of money could do for communities across the county.

Another issue is that despite extremely vocal protestors, opposition on environmental grounds, concerns about the potential impact on Shrewsbury's drinking water, the actual cancellation is not about the road or whether it is still needed.

The decision comes down to money - and the lack of it.

Regardless of the way the project finishes and who is left on the hook for the money spent, or wasted, the question of how to solve Shrewsbury's traffic issue remains.

There will be many residents in the town, and surrounding villages frustrated and angry at the lack of solutions, with nothing to show for £39m.