NZ Transport Agency senior safety engineer Roy Johnston said the Moeraki Boulders intersection and the one further south leading to Moeraki township were controlled by give-way signs.
He said the change was because stop signs better reflected the risk at the intersection and helped drivers understand they needed to stop "properly" and check if the roadway was clear.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher was pleased with the decision.
"I’ve brought it up with them in the past and you get all the engineers’ reasons about why it should be a give way, but in a practical sense it makes much more sense to have it as a stop [sign] so people are aware they have to be much more alert."
Waihemo Community Board chairwoman Kathy Dennison said the change was "a positive move".
"If it helps drivers behave and people to stop it can only be a good thing."
Earlier this year a variable speed limit was put in place at the Moeraki Boulders intersection just north of Moeraki.
Locals called for changes to the area after a 39-year-old Chinese woman was killed in a three-car crash at the turnoff last November. Her death was the fifth in two years on SH1 near the tourist hot spot.
Mr Johnston said the site’s road markings would be upgraded once the weather was warmer.
