State Highway 1 south of Kaikoura, which was closed by slips, will reopen to residents and essential services soon, the New Zealand Transport Authority said yesterday.
However, the tourism hotspot is still struggling with few visitors to the town since the quake.
Kaikoura Mayor Winston Gray told NewstalkZB this morning the town was "hanging on" reasonably well.
"But with business, I hope we're at the bottom of the trough. There's not many people coming into the village itself so there's not much spend going on through the shops, hotels, bars etc.
"People are holding together in anticipation of that road reopening."
"This is the time for many businesses in the retail and hospitality sector where they're able to get some gains. They've probably been waiting for that all through winter.
"All of a sudden we hit summer and Christmas particularly. That's where they would have made money to get them through January and February when people are away on holiday."
Wilkinson is warning businesses to prepare for at least four months of disruption, pointing out that unpredictable weather has already caused delays for the demolition of 61 Molesworth St and the Queensgate cinema.
"One impact is the businesses that have been shut out of their operations. Another is the businesses who have lost an established audience.
"Dare I say it, both are of the same impact.
"It sounds crazy, that the people who are still trading are impacted.
"But in some parts of the city large amounts of employees have been displaced. Think about the businesses that were built to service those.
"So their audience has changed, and it's going to take some time for those businesses to regain their turnover, their profile, their goodwill."
Tinsel has been added to parts of the cordon at Courtenay Central. Photo / Frances Cook
Wellington Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Milford agreed that hospitality and retail were the worst hit, as well as connected businesses such as suppliers.
"You have some hospitality saying 'we're feeling the impact because there are less people, or a building that was near us is now not occupied, so my customers are not there'."
Milford said the one positive was the reminder that everyone needed to be prepared.
He said businesses and individuals had had a wake-up call to organise emergency kits, and talk over contact plans with their loved ones.
Part of Tory Street is closed, until Reading Cinema's car park is demolished. Photo / Frances Cook
Earthquake damage in Wellington
Reading Cinema car park is scheduled for demolition. The Courtenay Central complex is closed until that is done. Cordons are in place on Tory St between Wakefield St and Courtenay Pl.
Queensgate cinema is being demolished. Parts of the mall are still open to the public.
61 Molesworth St is being demolished. Molesworth St is closed between Hawkstone St and Hill St while that's under way. Buildings close to the demolition site are closed.
Statistics House is condemned, and an MBie investigation is under way into the extent of the damage.
The Asteron Centre is closed for repairs, causing the largest loss of office floor space in the city, at 33,500sq m. It's hoped it will reopen before Christmas.
Defence headquarters at Freyburg House is closed for repairs. Staff are working at other locations around the city. Aitken St has a pedestrian-only cordon north of the building.
Katherine Mansfield House is open for visitors once more, but repair work is ongoing. A fundraising campaign has so far raised $2000 to help the historic homestead.
The High Court in Wellington is closed until early next year. Its interior suffered significant water and "other" damage.
Greater Wellington Regional Council's CentrePort building is closed.
Deloitte House is closed for repairs.
The British High Commission is temporarily closed for repairs. For now it's operating out of the Australian High Commission, at 72-76 Hobson St, Thorndon.