The 200m of Beach Rd north of Kakanui reduced to one lane after a 2014 slip is still scheduled for a 2016-17 fix.
But council roading manager Michael Voss said it was taking longer than expected to reopen both lanes, "for reasons outside our control''.
The council remained in discussion with landowners about moving a section of Beach Rd inland.
He said there were options the council could consider if it was not able to encroach on the private land, but there were no "stumbling blocks'' with the discussions he knew of - they were simply "taking longer than anticipated''.
"A proposal lies with the adjacent landowners for their consideration,'' Mr Voss said.
"It's just a matter of bringing it all together.''
The council had allocated $272,345 for the job, however, the costs would be determined by the final outcome of the discussions.
The work schedule would be dependent upon the outcome of the discussions and the construction season; work would not happen in the "five months around winter''.
Erosion was an ongoing issue in the area, the Beach Rd coastline eroding on average about 2m each year.
The council, which had $50,000 allocated for preventive maintenance work for its coastal roads per year,had closed "a number of sections'' of the road in the area due to erosion.
The work required north of Kakanui would be viewed as a permanent fix for the road.
However, the future of the road and its ongoing erosion issues would be discussed as a part of a review of coastal roads with the New Zealand Transport Agency, Mr Voss said.
