"The site was affected by the very heavy rainfall in March this year," Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said in a statement.
The road has been reduced to one lane for safety reasons. Photo / Warren Buckland
"There have previously been slips and repair work on this section of SH2.
"Waka Kotahi contractors will be carrying out geotechnical surveys next week, including testing ground conditions and carrying out drone surveys on multiple sites on SH2 including this one."
Waka Kotahi stated it would have a better understanding of the scale of the work required and the timeframe for completing it when that survey was done.
Bollards have been erected around the edge of the slip to stop vehicles getting too close to the dropout.
Wairoa Mayor Craig Little said the amount of rain which fell during March and April had led to an estimated $40 million worth of damage to council roads in the district, which did not include damage to highways (which are managed by Waka Kotahi).
Heavy rainfall caused the slip. Photo / Warren Buckland
He said it was by far the most damage from a weather event he had seen during his time on council.
"It just kept coming and a lot of damages started oozing out afterwards."
He said Waka Kotahi subsidised councils dealing with repair works, for roads damaged by storms, and the council was in that process at present to get all the funding needed to repair its roads.
"Be patient," he said, to residents in the region waiting for council-managed roads to be fixed.
"The more patient we are we will hopefully get more money and get the job done properly at little cost to ratepayers."
