Work on repairing the extensive washout alongside Anzac Pde next to the Whanganui River is now expected to start early next year.
Ross I'Anson, NZTA highway manager, has confirmed to the Chronicle that design work should be completed in December which means contractors should be on the job early in 2017.
The riverside walkway and edges of the road - which is part of SH4 - were damaged during the June floods last year when a part of the footpath near the Anzac Pde-Portal St intersection collapsed.
Then at the end of July another section slumped, taking out the footpath from Taylor St to the City Bridge.
At the time NZTA said engineering assessments after that second slump showed up a bigger - and costlier - problem than first thought. The final sum could reach $5 million.