The $61 million debt on Tauranga's Route K toll road is likely to remain a huge and growing financial burden on the council even if the road was declared a state highway.
Proposals to get the road, but not the debt, off the city council's books will be decided at a meeting of the council today.
Current predictions were that Route K would not become cash flow positive until around 2026 when both The Lakes and the Tauriko business area would be fully developed.
Debt on Route K will reach $61.1 million by the end of this month - about $200,000 more than a month earlier.
The way forward for the financially embattled road, which was built on the wrong financial forecasts, has followed years of talks with the Government's highways agency.