Marlborough Sounds residents grilled the council today about the future of Kenepuru Rd which suffered significant damage in August's storm.
Council officials were unable to finish their presentations before being peppered with questions from frustrated locals.
They had a range of concerns, including delays in repairs, funding allocations and the ongoing uncertainty about the future of the road.
Roads across the entire Marlborough Sounds were significantly damaged during the August storm.
The most impacted though is Kenepuru Rd, which is one of the main roads in the area and connects around 1000 properties to the mainland.
Marlborough recovery manager Dean Heiford said initial estimates put the total cost of road repairs across Marlborough at $400 million. And the initial estimate for Kenepuru Rd and connecting roads was $160 million.
Kenepuru Rd has only recently reopened to residents who can drive on it at their own risk. 1News was given permission to use the road to see the damage up close.
There are a huge number of slips across the road, one lane sections, drop outs and areas where the road has slumped. In some areas there's damage every couple of hundred metres.
August's storm was the second huge storm to rip through the area in just over a year and with climate change many are concerned there will be more in the future.
The council has asked Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency for more money after the August storm but were told to use the remaining $25 million from last year's storm, which has been distributed to the most pressing issues throughout the region.
That was one of the biggest points of contention at today's meeting as much of that money had been put aside to repair Kenepuru Rd.
One person commented they wanted their community to be put first: "We don't want people to get the money we should've had. We don't want to always come last."
Even with that $25 million, Heiford said it's not enough to actually repair the roads.
"No, we can't. We just don't have enough money because that $25 million has to go across the Marlborough network."
Instead it will be used to keep access to roads by addressing immediate issues like slips blocking the road.
Before the council receives any more money from Waka Kotahi, the transport agency has asked for a review into the long term future of roads in the Marlborough Sounds.
Heiford said that it will come back in July and will determine what the future will look like.
"No community and no government is going to keep putting hundreds of millions of dollars into a roading network if you haven't worked out what it should be, how it needs to be maintained, rebuilt and how it's going to be funded."
The latest storm is just the latest blow for businesses, like farmers and tourism operators, that rely on the road to survive.
Since July's storm last year stock trucks haven't been able to travel on Kenepuru Rd which means animals and equipment have had to be barged in. While there's a barge subsidy it's still costing farmers.
Will Gerard said the road is crucial for farmers. "I think I'm sixth generation, or my kids will be sixth generation, farming in the sounds, and it's hard to see a future for them if there's no road access.
"Even if the study is supportive of truck and trailer access, we're talking years now before we see those on the road again."
Today's meeting was just one of a series of public meetings held across Marlborough this week to discuss the issues with the roading network.
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