Abseilers using crowbars will dislodge unstable rocks on the hillside above Fruitgrowers Rd at Clyde as part of the slip repair work which began this week, two months after the slip closed the road.
Central Otago District Council roading manager Julie Muir said it was hoped the council road, near the Clyde dam, would have one lane reopened to traffic by Christmas.
Fruitgrowers Rd leads to the Dunstan Arm Rowing Club headquarters, and popular recreation areas Weatherall Creek and Burton Creek. An alternative road access, over the dam, has been available since the October slip.
''Because of the alternative access, there was no pressing need to get this road sorted out quickly,'' Ms Muir said.
The council was still ''in discussions'' with the landowner - Contact Energy- about paying for repairs.
Clearing the debris to open one lane of the road was likely to take about a week.
Abseilers would be anchored above the face and lowered to lever big rocks with crowbars, Ms Muir said.
Material had to be loosened and brought down before the road was cleared.
Ms Muir said road repair delays were to relocate power lines that had been in the path of the slip. The remaining power line, to the rowing club headquarters, would be placed underground.
