The possibility of the relinquishing of a corridor of land for a coastal road was raised by Councillor Eddie Hughes at a presentation on the Cultana expansion by defence and State Government representatives.

State Government defence unit land force director David Searles said that he could only respond from a State Government perspective, but that his experience with the army suggested it would not be a project the army would be considering.

"From a State perspective I certainly understand the value of a coastal road," Mr Searles said.

He that that his experience, after being in the army for 21 years, was that if that coastal corridor was reduced it would significantly reduce the viability of the Cultana expansion.

With limited opportunities for training between army, navy and airforce, he said Cultana provided a training ground where amphibious exercises could take place.

Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Hoskin said there would be more rather than less amphibious and complex army training exercises and that it is not looking at an option to relinquish land for a coastal road.

Whyalla City Council allocated $15,000 towards developing a case for the reopening of the coastal road, with the Whyalla Economic Board contributing a further $15,000 to the project.

Whyalla Economic Development Board chief executive officer Steve Arndt said that while the money had been allocated some time ago, there had been discussions with defence and State Government, to gain an understanding of the likelihood of the project going ahead.

The money had been allocated in June 2006, with the recent defence presentation confirming Mr Arndt's suspicions that defence would be hesitant to relinquish the required land.

Mr Arndt said that it was more time and effort that had been spent on the project to date, with not a lot of cash expenditure.

He said the $15,000 that was allocated, would be reallocated to other projects.

Whyalla Mayor Jim Pollock said the allocation of money to the project would be reviewed in the formation of the 2007/2008 budget process.

With information exchanged with defence, Mayor Pollock suspected the coastal road project would not proceed, with the money allocated to be directed to other services.

"It was certainly worth the try," he said.

"It would have been a very exciting project, for this region and across the State."

Defence have made their priorities clear, Mayor Pollock said, with the training exercises at Cultana taking precedent over the development of a coastal touring road.