A temporary fix to a large landslide which destroyed part of a road between Wairoa and Gisborne on Tuesday was expected in a weeks' time.
The slip on Tiniroto Road, between Rockill Road and Parikanapa Road, had cut off about 1500 residents in the Hangaroa area.
The slip has swept away a section of Tiniroto Road between Rockhill Road and Parikanapa Road, leaving it impassable. Photo: Dr Murry Cave / GDC Principal Scientist
The section of road subsided several metres below its usual course and the road seal has broken up.
Since Cyclone Gabrielle, locals have already been taking a long detour to get to Tiniroto and Hangaroa. Now they will have to drive even further.
Gisborne District Council's principal scientist Murry Cave told Checkpoint the slip was "pretty significant size wise".
Photo: Dr Murry Cave / GDC Principal Scientist
It occupied an area of about 4.3 hectares but the good news was there did not appear to be much more debris coming down from the forest.
It was likely to take up to a week for a temporary fix to be put in place to allow 4WDs to pass through.
A permanent fix would be pricey, Cave said.
Funding was going to be an issues and the council's roading team would have to talk to Waka Kotahi about assisting, he said.
Listen to the full interview with Murry Cave here
Cave said the roading engineers and contractors would be meeting on Thursday morning to further discuss the situation.
He had also requested GNS Science to do an assessment of the risk from the landslide and the landslide dam it created.
Despite its size, Cave said he was confident the slip and destruction of the road could be dealt with - it was just a matter of working through a solution.
In a statement, Gisborne District Council acting director Dave Hadfield said the slip had caused a "naturally occurring landslide dam" and water was running through the slip.
"Council is monitoring it while a plan is being developed.
"We're also in discussions with the people who own the land impacted by the slip, and we're trying to source areas where we can dispose of the slip debris.
"Our hazards advisor is monitoring the slip and the weather forecast so we can effectively respond if required."
Photo: Dr Murry Cave / GDC Principal Scientist
Hadfield said teams were working as quickly as it was to safely do.
"We know the sooner we can reconnect everyone back to Gisborne again, the better."
Gisborne mayor Rehette Stoltz earlier said it was a huge blow for the small communities.
"They have been using detours the whole year. This is just another cruel blow for that community."