The cost of fixing a slip on a Dunedin road has ballooned to more than $400,000, with work expected to start soon.
The council had just awarded a tender to fix the slip, which caused Upper Junction Rd to be closed since storms in June, council roading maintenance engineer Peter Standring said.
The company that won the tender, SouthRoads, had been given until the end of February to fix the road, Mr Standring said.
The cost of the work, earlier expected to be about $250,000, had risen to about $405,000, in part due to damage that needed to be repaired on resident Polly Mustard's property.
The repair work on Ms Mustard's property would be done alongside repairs to the road, with EQC and insurance paying about a quarter of the total cost.
In order to stabilise the road, a reinforced engineered slope - using a material called ''terramesh cloth'' - would be installed.
The road would remain closed while work was carried out, with a temporary solution of opening one lane dismissed ''early on in the piece'' due to safety fears.
The work had taken longer than usual to get under way because a private land-owner was involved, he said.
Chalmers Community Board chairman Steve Walker said he was ''absolutely delighted'' work was going ahead.
''It's imperative it does get completed as soon as possible in order to re-engage those members of the community who have been severely inconvenienced [by the closure],'' Mr Walker said.
Upper Junction Rd also provided an ''important'' alternate route in the event of serious accidents blocking access to Port Chalmers from the city.
