The Dunedin City Council yesterday temporarily closed part of the road until the boulder could be removed.
The council was alerted to the unstable state of the boulder on private land above Blueskin Rd, south of Reynoldstown Rd, by the landowner yesterday.
Council general manager community services Simon Pickford said an engineer visited the area yesterday afternoon and had also assessed any threat to houses below the road, in nearby Careys Bay, but determined that risk was low and no evacuation was needed.
Despite this, the council was taking a precautionary approach by keeping the section of road closed and had positioned two shipping containers on the road below the boulder to protect houses should the boulder come loose.
The move was “definitely a precaution” but should give residents extra confidence their homes remained safe.
Council staff last night made efforts to contact the owners of properties below the affected area to provide information and reassurance.
“We want to make sure everyone who needs to know is kept informed, but there is no need for alarm,” Mr Pickford said.
The boulder appeared to have come loose from a larger segment of rock on Tuesday.
The engineer had assessed the stability of the boulder and found it was a hazard, which meant the road could not be reopened until the boulder was removed.
While the road was closed, diversions were in place for motorists and residents.
The DCC website advised motorists to travel via Mt Cargill Rd.
Engineers will be back on site first thing today to assess the situation again and consider options to remove the boulder.
