Marlborough's Awatere Valley Road may not open to the public for Christmas after more heavy rain hit the region.
The Awatere Valley Road. Photo: Marlborough District Council
The rural road was damaged in the July storm and has been under controlled access for residents since.
Heavy rain on 14 December re-activated a slip at Limestone Bridge that blocked the road and forced its closure.
It has since been cleared but geotechnical assessments have shown the road may not be safe to open for public access as planned for three weeks over the Christmas period.
Marlborough Roads manager Steve Murrin said safety was paramount on the fragile roading network, still impacted by the July storm.
"We know some members of the public were looking forward to being able to use the road from the State Highway 1 side during Christmas, but as always, we need to ensure roads are safe before we can open them to the public.
"We wanted to give the public plenty of warning just in case we can't open the road next week."
A decision on public access will be made by 22 December after further investigations at the slip site.