Food drops will be made in the days ahead after a bridge failed and stranded dozens of Upper Hutt households.
The bridge above the river in Birchville slumped on Thursday morning.
It can probably not be salvaged and a replacement will take four to six months, Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy said this morning.
He said four-wheel motorbikes were being used to ferry supplies to stranded locals.
The mayor said a mail drop was organised yesterday afternoon, and food was also delivered.
"We were working with the supermarkets and getting food to them [by motorbike]."
Residents needing medical help also faced some difficulties.
"There were people who needed to get to the doctor. I was told there was an amputee so we got food to him or her."
Residents would likely have no access by car to the outside world for several days, so Guppy said food deliveries would continue.
A route for cars would be built through the Akatarawa Forest by widening a walkway.
"The contractors are on Totara Park side, starting to widen and enlarge the walkway," Guppy said. "They were on deck early this morning.
"It's probably going to take about a week. It's about 900m. They have to widen it, compact it then seal it. Hopefully by this time next week or late in the week it will be ready."
He said the conditions had improved after heavy rain left parts of the area waterlogged this week. But the outlook for the slumped Bridge Rd structure was poor.
"We're dreaming if we think it's salvageable."
The council's engineering department had spoken to bridge designers, Guppy said.
He hoped the replacement bridge would be functional within four months, rather than six.
"I'm going to do a lot more walking in the days to come I think," resident Susan Jamieson told NZME News Service earlier.