Roughly 100m of Beach Rd north of the seaside settlement in North Otago was reduced to one lane after a 2014 slip.
In a report tabled at an extraordinary council meeting in Oamaru this week council roading manager Michael Voss advocated a "bare minimum" approach but the council decided to reinstate the road to two lanes and to produce a strategy to address future inevitable slips along the well-used route.
Mr Voss argued for leaving the stretch of road as a single lane with a 30kmh speed limit in place, as it would cost the council only $5000 and minimise the council’s financial risk if further slips occurred north of the affected section of the road. But Cr Melanie Tavendale, of Kakanui, took issue with his proposal and argued for the road to be reinstated. The road was already scheduled for a 2016-17 fix and $117,000 was available for the work in the annual plan.
She noted the roading team thought a New Zealand Transport Agency subsidy was likely and said the council knew there was a "community appetite" for the stretch of road to be reopened.
"We have promised the community a two-lane road," she said.
"Anything else is a flip."
With a reported 988 vehicles using it each day, the road was important for commuters. It was a "major tourist route", and offered a detour if one was required for State Highway 1 between Oamaru and Waianakarua.
In the past, consultation with adjacent landowners had delayed the project but the council now knew it owned enough land — an 8m strip — to reinstate two lanes and landowner consent was not required.
And she said the reason the council had not received "strong push back" against the single-lane section from the community was because people believed the road would eventually be reinstated.
Mr Voss said further slips would occur in the area but where they would occur was unpredictable.
"The slip at Kakanui was totally unforeseen," Mr Voss said.
"It’s a moving feast and we have no guarantees where these slips will occur."
Once repaired, he said, a slip could occur "400m away" along the road. His recommendation to councillors was based on increasing uncertainty as to the longevity of the road and a desire to "limit the potential for over-investment" in the road.
Crs Guy Percival and Jan Wheeler voted against the decision to reinstate the section as a two-lane road.
However, Cr Jim Hopkins said it was time to "accept that in time that [Beach Rd] is going to cost — and continue to cost — considerably more than other roads in the area".
He had received unanimous support from councillors when he called for the council roading team to produce a strategy that would "proactively address" the most cost-effective long-term strategy for the road.
In February this year, Mr Voss told the Otago Daily Times the Beach Rd coastline was eroding on average about 2m each year.
The council has $50,000 allocated for preventive maintenance work for its coastal roads per year.
Beach Rd is closed between Gardiners Rd and Thousand Acre Rd. Large chunks of tarseal have disappeared after intensive coastal erosion.
