Beach Rd, running several kilometres south from Oamaru along the Kakanui coast, was temporarily closed in August.
Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher confirmed on Tuesday the future of the road is hanging in the balance.
He told the Otago Daily Times options would be put to the public early next year including shifting the road or abandoning it.
‘‘We know there is a strong desire to have the road reinstated — that’s my preference, but we have to be realistic about what the cost will be.’’
At this point he did not know what that cost might be.
‘‘We know it is a special piece of road — and know there is not a lot of opportunities to drive alongside the ocean south from Timaru.’’
The road was temporarily closed by the Waitaki District Council in August in a move to clear two historical fly-tipping sites in an environmental cleanup costing $12million-$15million.
At the time, the council said ‘‘the aim’’ was to have it reinstated by Christmas.
And the total amount of rubbish dug out from the two Beach Rd sites exceeded projections by nearly 60%.
Last week, permanent-looking locked gates and barriers were erected at the entry points to the road — causing a worried buzz among Oamaru locals.
Mr Kircher said councillors were briefed first hand on the extent of the issue on Monday.
It was obvious that reinstating the road was not going to be straightforward.
‘‘Essentially, we’re keeping an open mind as to what the solution will be.
‘‘It was always going to be a risk how extensive the rubbish was underneath, and how extensive a reinstatement might be.
‘‘At the moment the jury is out,’’ he said on Tuesday night.
Councillors had been greeted with ‘‘a rather large hole’’ near the Awamoa Rd junction.
Both coastal sites were at risk from the encroaching sea — potentially a major environmental disaster.
The council has previously been forced to abandon a stretch of Beach Rd further south towards Kakanui.
Waitaki District Council infrastructure manager Joshua Rendell said
the locked gates were put in for safety reasons.
Surveying was now being undertaken ‘‘to determine options’’ to reinstate Beach Rd.
Mr Rendell said the cleanup was essential to prevent an environmental disaster along the coast.
‘‘Images taken during the project showed the high-tide line already reaching the rock-toeing placed at both the Hampden and Beach Rd sites.’’
By removing the historical dump material and storing it far from the coast, Project Reclaim had been a success, he said.
