A significant slip on Skippers Road has seen almost all of a 5m-long section of road fall into the Shotover River.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council was alerted to the slip on the section of road, know as Devil's Elbow, which is about 18km from Coronet Peak Rd.

About 80 percent of the road has fallen away, preventing vehicular access from that point.

Council transport manager Denis Mander said a roading engineer inspected the slip this morning and would make a further assessment this afternoon.

"He will be looking at possible engineering solutions but clearly it won't be fixed overnight," Mr Mander said.

All affected tourism operators had been advised and have introduced contingency plans to work around the slip.

"All operators have advised they can continue to operate business as usual into Skippers," he said.

To ensure safety, contractors would build a large bund on the Queenstown side of the road, with clear signs, he said.

Given the historic nature of the road the council would notify and consult with both the New Zealand Historic Places Trust and New Zealand Transport Authority.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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