A series of terraces would be formed on the hill's problematic east and northeast faces, Port Otago's acting chief executive Sean Bolt said.
The resource consenting process for the current project goes back to late 2015 and it was finalised with some added conditions, including eventual landscaping of the 55m-high hill.
The original cost estimate was about $500,000.
While suggestions have abounded on what to do with the 45,000sq m of fill, from using it to build the harbourside cycleway to filling in a gully at the Port Chalmers golf club, ultimately those were not feasible, Mr Bolt said.
"It required a publicly-notified resource consent from the Dunedin City Council, involving hearings and potentially appeals.
"The uncertainty around timeframes meant this option was not viable,'' he said.
Truck movements will be restricted from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday, and drivers would keep to a self-imposed 30kmh speed limit through Port Chalmers, he said.
Mr Bolt said the project team spent considerable time investigating the lowest-impact option for moving the fill, including trucking it via Peninsula Beach Rd or by rail, but it was decided to go via State Highway 88 to an old Fairfield landfill site.
With no vantage point to see the benching work being done, Port Otago had set up a web-cam, soon to be accessible through its website.
In late 1999, a slip on the hill prompted Port Otago to undertake more remedial earthwork, benching the bottom of the hill on Beach St, but since then further instability had encroached on the road and port railway tracks.
"At its conclusion, the road, rail and footpath will be realigned to improve safety and in readiness for future operational requirements at the port,'' Mr Bolt said.
