We're making the most of the winter weather, and less people visiting our beaches, by starting preliminary work on Stage 2 of the North Beach Seawall.
The works involve driving a number of screw piles into the ground below the sand. By undertaking this work now, we're able to confirm the depth to bedrock and the final design of the piling. This information will allow Council to wrap up the last details of the final design for the seawall works, and help to fast-track the project once work is underway.
"We opened first stage of the North Beach Seawall before Christmas and it's fair to say it has been a real asset to the beach,'' Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said.
"Not only has it improved accessibility to the beach and provided seating, it has also met its overarching function which is to protect the foreshore and renovated surf club building from challenging sea conditions and coastal erosion.
"Stage two will run from the southern side of these recently completed works through to the North Beach Bathers Pavilion. It'll replace the ageing crib wall with a fit-for-purpose seawall that'll help protect this precinct from coastal erosion and the impacts of climate change.''
The work to install the screw piles is expected to take about four weeks. Access to the North Wollongong Beach – the city's only flagged beach during the winter months – will remain open while the work is underway.
Once finished, the piles will be well-below surface level and completely covered by sand.
"While we're not planning to start construction of the seawall until after the peak summer season of early 2026, we're getting on the front foot early,'' Wollongong City Council Director Infrastructure and Works (Acting) Paul Tracey said.
"We can do this work early with minimal disruption to our community. And, by doing this now, we can get useful information about the depth and make-up of the ground under the sand and incorporate this into our planning for the project.
"It's not unusual for Council to break large projects into multiple stages like this. By staging our works, we're able to move from one key project to another.
"We know this space is really loved by our community as well as visitors to our city. A small amount of disruption now, will set us in good stead for when the project starts in earnest in 2026.''
Council is planning to go to tender for Stage 2 of the Seawall project in 2025 and commence the construction work after the summer school holidays in 2026.
This project is funded under the NSW Government's Coastal and Estuary Program with Council receiving $3.9M towards the construction of stage 2 of the project.
