A47 dualling work means extra road safety measures - including speed limit cuts and a road closure - need to be brought in to stop motorists rat-running through Norfolk villages.
Norfolk County Council officials are concerned that, with the Easton roundabout due to be removed when the A47 between Easton and North Tuddenham is dualled, drivers will look to use small rural roads to the west of Norwich.
The council had hopes the Norwich Western Link road would have prevented that, but the troubled flagship scheme is in limbo and may never happen.
In the meantime, County Hall officers hope new safety measures will cut vehicle speeds and discourage rat-runners in villages such as Weston Longville, Morton on the Hill and Honingham.
Some speed limit cuts had been introduced previously, but the latest proposals include extending the 20mph limit on Honingham Road/Woodforde Close/Church Street and Rectory Road in Weston Longville.
The council is also proposing to close part of Weston Green Road at Weston Green to general traffic.
Officers say that proposal is because of concerns the Easton roundabout removal could increase traffic in the area.
And the council is also proposing road narrowing through what are known as 'build outs' - safety features which give priority to traffic travelling in one direction.
They would be in Marl Hill at Morton on the Hill, Honingham Road in Weston Longville, Paddy's Lane near Weston Green and at Taverham Road, off the A47.
Norfolk County Council had hoped its flagship 3.9-mile Western Link road, to link the A47 and the A1067, would take traffic away from the villages.
But the authority - which has already spent £55m on the road - withdrew its plans after Natural England effectively blocked them on environmental grounds, including the road's impact on protected barbastelle bats.
The government subsequently said it would give £960,000 towards the council's £1.43m options assessment work to come up with an alternative, which could see a new road, on a different route.
The money which Norfolk County Council needs from Whitehall to develop alternatives to ditched plans for the road was stuck in limbo because of a government review.
That review has concluded and the Western Link scheme remains in the programme, so the council should get the money.
But critics said the council should have had always had a Plan B in place to help relieve rat-running.
The authority said the project process meant they could only pursue one option, rather than having an alternative plan.
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