The Northland coastal community cut off by a giant slip since January is facing improvements to its piloted convoy, as the slip clearance continues.

Russell Rd in Whangārei’s Helena Bay was closed by a 110,000cu m slip on January 21.

The road was the main access route to the Whangaruru Coast and the closure meant about 800 homes in the Helena Bay, Ōakura, Teal Bay and Whangaruru areas now have to use a treacherous alternate route through Kaiikanui Rd.

Due to the narrowness of the unsealed road, pilot vehicles escort drivers, with the convoys from each end meeting on a plateau in the middle.

Whangārei District Council, which hired contractors to run the convoys every day, will shorten the convoy from today, reducing it by 3.5km from the southern end.

Council manager of transportation Greg Monteith said the change would mean less stress for the approximately 20 Kaiikanui Rd houses nearest the intersection with Pigs Head Rd, as they will not have to wait for the convoy.

The change would also make the escorted route shorter, meaning it should take around 30 minutes rather than the average 33 to 44 minutes currently, Monteith said.

If the convoy took 30 minutes, it could be easier for the council to run and stick to a schedule, he said.

The change would be monitored though and might have to revert back if there were increased crashes on the non-escorted part of the road, Monteith said.

Motorists would have to keep left, stick to a 30km/h speed restriction and give way to the unescorted convoy, he said.

Whangārei's northeast coast continues to have restricted access, as work on the Helena Bay hill slip continues.

Meanwhile, clearance of the slip was continuing but was still short of the 50% mark.

Project lead Curt Martin from Censeo Consulting said progress was dependent on the weather, with rain making the site too dangerous to work on and stopping the slip material from being correctly compacted on the clean-fill site.

About 14 days had been lost to bad weather since the work started in late February, Martin said.

The council was continuing to look for a suitable clean-fill site on the northeast side of the slip, to help speed up the clearance but finding accessible land that was not flood-prone was difficult, he said.

Martin said giant boulders pulled from the slip material were being stored for future roadworks, as well as being utilised by locals.

Aerial photos show the extent of the work on the Helena Bay hill slip, with the material including crumbly greywacke soil and huge basalt boulders.

The aim was to get the road open to one lane as soon as possible, Martin said.

Once the route reopened, the council would do repair work to minor slips on Kaiikanui Rd, Monteith said.

Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.