Rockets fly to space in Mahia as the road to the launch site falls into the sea

Erosion has caused the road to fall away making it dangerous for traffic. Photo / Warren Buckland

Road washouts are threatening to cut off a small community on the Mahia Peninsula, best known to most of New Zealand as the home of Rocket Lab's launch site.

Members of the community say they are frustrated with the amount of time it is taking to fix the three washouts on Mahia East Coast Rd.

Resident Denis Murphy said the community is already almost cut off, with several areas of the road already one way.

"Anywhere else in New Zealand, if you had a road like that, you wouldn't be allowed to drive past it."

The washouts have been happening for years, and the road gets patched up but not fixed long term, he said.

"They (the council) cut the road back into the bank and five years down the track ... it gets eaten away again."

Some residents in the area have raised concerns with Hawke's Bay Today about the impact of trucks on the road heading out to Rocket Lab's Mahia site.

A spokesperson for Rocket Lab said vehicles carrying rockets out to the launch site were very light and weighed less than a tonne.

They weren't troubled by or having an effect on the road, the spokespersons said.

"It isn't related to Rocket Lab's traffic."

Local resident Denis Murphy inspects the washout caused by erosion. Photo / Warren Buckland

Murphy said he wanted to see a longer-term, more permanent solution and believed it could be done by strengthening washout areas with concrete.

He said when the bank under the main bridge in Wairoa was washed out by a flood, the issue was fixed immediately.

"They don't do that here, that's our big argument, it doesn't get done here."

Wairoa District Mayor Craig Little said he did not think there would be support for the Mahia coastline being strengthened with concrete, as well as it being a costly exercise.

"I think they have looked at that in the past, it's millions and millions of dollars.

"We just can't afford that.

"It is a beautiful area and if we make it all concrete I don't think we would get a lot of support to be honest."

He said the council were looking at building an inland road and NZTA were keeping an eye on that idea.

Erosion has caused the road to fall away making it dangerous for traffic. Photo / Warren Buckland

"We're looking at the longer term, but NZTA they want to see whatever we are doing has been engineered and that it's going to be lasting," Little said.

"While that coast is beautiful, it's costing helluva lot to keep that road.

"There's one place out there you'll see a yellow line at the edge of the road, well that yellow line, the road used to be the other side of that."

Murphy said the community did not want a new inland road.

"In all our years Mahia has never asked for anything, all we want to do is make it safe."