Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher says it could take 18 months to properly seal Haven St in Moeraki because the land is still settling.
Cracks and dips have been noticed on Moeraki's new main road, but Mr Kircher said the council had expected a ''fair amount of settling''.
The Waitaki District Council decided two years ago Haven St would stay closed because of the ongoing cost of trying to keep it open.
However, pressure from the community to reopen it grew, culminating in an offer from the community last December to raise money and volunteers to do the work.
The community raised $130,000, volunteers spent about 3300 hours and material was donated to rebuild the 400m section of Haven St, which was closed for almost two years because of slippage.
The old road was lowered about 2.5m in the middle to cut back the load on the slippery clay. One end was gradually built up by 6m and the other by 12m where it had slumped away.
Drainage was put through to take stormwater from the surrounding area and drain the road's foundation.
The bank below the road has been stepped using old concrete power poles held in place by pipes in drill holes filled with cement. A drilling rig punched 57 holes into the ground on the sea side of the road edge.
Into each went a 20cm steel casing, into which a 125mm pipe with railway iron welded into the centre was inserted.
Cement was poured in as the casing was withdrawn, spreading into the rock and shingle base to form a grouting wall.
A large amount of material was compacted on the road in the rebuild, Mr Kircher said.
''It'll take time and traffic going over it before it's at the stage where it's moved as much as it's going to move.''
