Heavy vehicles over five tonnes are expected to be able to resume using the East Cape road from midnight Sunday, by which time a diversion past the Maraenui Bluff should be capable of handling trucks.
A slip on the Maraenui Bluff closed State Highway 35, 30km east of Opotiki on August 27. It was re-opened for light vehicles three days later, but heavy vehicles have had to supply East Coast settlements via Gisborne.

The Maraenui Bluff slip.

The slip continues to move slowly, reports the New Zealand Transport Agency.
NZTA Bay of Plenty state highway manager Rod James says the one-way detour remains open only to light traffic (less than five tonnes). Heavy vehicles should be able to traverse the detour route from midnight on Sunday, 5 September - but this will be confirmed on Saturday.
"Each day next week, the detour will close to heavy vehicles from 9am to noon, and again from 2pm-6pm to allow upgrade work to continue," says Rod.
"During the closures light vehicles will be diverted onto the highway, but this option is not available for heavy vehicles."
The detour should be open 24 hours a day to all vehicles from September 11, all going well. There is a 30km/h speed restriction on the steep and windy detour and extreme care is needed. It will add 10-15 minutes travel time.
Iwi, heavy commercial vehicle operators, other road users, NZTA and their contractors held an on site meeting on Thursday. The meeting heard about the complexities of the situation and that geological investigations continue to determine the nature and extent of the slip before a solution can be developed. The investigations are expected to take a month.