The idea was first mooted in 1991, but caused such an outcry it never went ahead.
Instead, decades of "fiddling" with the corner has turned it into the Waitaki district's worst accident blackspot.
It is a confusing corner for those who do not live in Oamaru.
At times, cars have proceeded up the wrong lanes, it is difficult to judge the speed of traffic on State Highway 1 and drivers get confused about where they should be turning.
In 2003, Transit NZ again resurrected the idea of shifting the monument, but later that year dropped the proposal, instead proposing traffic lights at the monument intersection and roundabouts.
The roundabouts went ahead, but the traffic lights never went in.
As accidents continued to mount, Transit, in July 2004, came back again with the idea of moving the monument.
This time, it embarked on considerable consultation, including consulting the North Otago RSA and the North Otago branch of the Historic Places Trust.
Plans for the changes, which involved major safety work from the monument intersection north along Thames St to Orwell St, were put on public display.
While there was some protest, the idea had come of age with the realisation the corner was a major traffic hazard.
By September 2005, even the Waitaki District Council was calling for "urgent action" on what was estimated to be a $3.1 million plan to improve traffic safety in central Oamaru.
The council continued to keep the pressure on for another 18 months, before a final decision was made on the project, which included shifting the monument.
In July last year, Transit started core tests on the monument to see how it could be shifted and how it could be dismantled and reassembled.
But in February this year, Transit started to rethink shifting the monument when tender prices for the job came in substantially over estimate.
It looked at alternatives.
Having gone through the angst of whether the monument should be shifted, Oamaru people were not about to let the project go.
The suggestion that ratepayers might have to contribute to the project was met with an outcry.
Discussions between the council and Transit resulted in more money being found to shift the monument and in March a $685,000 contract for the job was awarded to Fulton Hogan and Oamaru stonemasons Dooleys.
Work starts next week.
