One of Dunedin's oldest streets, unearthed last month at the Dunedin City Council's $34 million Wall Street development, is likely to be preserved under glass.
Dunedin City Council and Historic Places Trust representatives met on Wednesday to discuss the future of the 14m by 4m pedestrian causeway, which is believed to date back to the 1850s.
The final decision on how to preserve the manuka log causeway will be made next Wednesday.
Trust staff will work with developers on the project.
The preferred option is for the causeway to be covered with 3cm thick glass and incorporated into the development, project manager Dave McKenzie said.
It was likely two-thirds of the causeway could be saved.
The rest would be under a planned structural wall.
While people were focused on the causeway, "we have to focus on a $34 million project".
"It presents some construction challenges," he said.
He had been contacted by two prospective retail tenants concerned about possible delays to the project, but it was too early to say if the causeway would alter the March 5 deadline for the development.
Trust Otago Southland area manager Owen Graham said the trust did "appreciate it could cause a delay and it could be costly".
Leaving the causeway in situ was a cheaper option to lifting the logs, he said.
"On site, it is a lot easier to manage. It just needs to be kept wet.
"This is a pretty good outcome," he said.
The causeway was a significant find and would be an asset not only for the city, but the country, he said.
"I think it will become a bit of an attraction."
