Speaking about Shoalhaven projects which gained funding in the federal budget Shoalhaven Business Chamber president Jemma Tribe revealed council had "taken ENSA off the table".

Ms Tribe said in discussions with the business chamber council had indicated geotechnical testing had revealed the area unsuitable and the project was likely to be more expensive than expected.

ENSA was designed to alleviate the pressure off the Kalandar Street/Princes Highway intersection, to take traffic off the Princes Highway behind Stockland Nowra, across the floodplain to rejoin Greenwell Point Road, providing easier access for traffic travelling to the eastern villages.

It has been widely acknowledged ENSA would play a vital role in any improvements to the Nowra road networks, especially the replacement of the Shoalhaven River bridge and any of the associated intersection upgrades.

Read more:

But it was never going to be cheap - estimates ranged anywhere from $25 million up to $45 million.

A council spokesperson said a decision on "the future of the project is yet to be made".

"A report outlining council's options will be prepared in the coming months," the spokesperson said.

"Shoalhaven City Council is currently undertaking detailed geotechnical work to finalise a concept plan for the ENSA project.

"Council staff are in the process of considering a rather complex soil report which shows the site varies considerably.

"While an assessment of the depth and bearing capacity of soft soil profile is yet to be completed, council is monitoring likely project costs."

At this time with the information currently available council estimates the project's costs are likely to exceed $50 million.

"As ENSA will not be funded by council, costs of this order are bringing into question the feasibility of the project," the spokesperson said.

Ms Tribe said it is understood council is now, instead advocating for the triplication of the highway to see three lanes in both directions all the way through Nowra with an overpass [flyover] at Kalandar Street, to alleviate the bottleneck at that intersection.

We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.