Heavy machinery could be on the road north of Kaikoura by the end of next week, similar to what is happening south of the town.

Large machinery will be in Kaikoura by the end of next week, which will come as welcome news for Kaikoura residents who have been calling for more action on the northern end of State Highway 1.

NZ Transport Agency earthquake recover manager Steve Mutton said he understood the frustrations felt around town, particularly by business owners who were desperate to get the road open after November's earthquake.

"The key message is that with large projects like this we will make better progress by getting the planning right.

GEORGE HEARD/FAIRFAX NZ NZTA earthquake recovery manager Steve Mutton.

"Then when crews do come on site they can work efficiently so we can open up the route more quickly."

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Mutton said the target for getting the road open was still the end of the year, but he was confident it would be open in some restricted form "well before that".

EMMA DANGERFIELD/FAIRFAX NZ Helicopters are sluicing the largest of the slips north of Kaikoura, at Ohau Point.

Three major slips were still being sluiced and were very complex in nature, with each site posing different issues for the teams of designers, he said.

Helicopters were sluicing the slips to see what was behind the loose material, whether it be more loose material or hard rock.

"There are also secondary slips in the hills which we need to be aware of."

Fourteen helicopters were being used, with up to nine running each day, dropping 1 million litres of water on the slips daily.

The spend on sluicing to the end of January was $2 million, and would continue until it was deemed safe for construction crews, Mutton said.

Once the heavy machinery arrived, work would begin from both the north and south sides, with contractors working their way to the major slips near Ohau Point, he said.

Construction roads would be built around the slips, with a view to using material from the slips. More than 100 designers were working on the details.

"We are starting to formulate a plan now," Mutton said.

More than 1000 sites needed attention, such as tunnels, bridges, sections of road and the alignment of the damaged railway.

The plan detailing how to remove the slips safely would be worked out alongside design plans for bridges and other structures, he said.

As well as heavy machinery, Kaikoura residents could expect to see more than 200 people based in Kaikoura when the North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery office opened in two weeks.

"From late next week we will be ramping up fairly quickly from there."

Construction teams would be based at the old Environment Canterbury building on Beach Rd. People would be able to visit the office if they had specific questions about the works, Mutton said.

He did not have details of how many Kaikoura contracting companies would be used, bute confirmed more than 25 companies from Marlborough and Canterbury were on board.