4 November 2004

Surplus sand to support St Helier's seawall

Sand left over from the Kohimarama Beach replenishment will be trucked to St Helier’s beach from today to help protect the exposed seawall from collapse.

Without the protection of sand the St Helier’s seawall faces the same fate as Kohimarama, where sand was recently replenished to protect the seawall and Tamaki Drive.

One barge load (around 600 cubic meters) of sand originally destined for Kohimarama beach will be diverted to the endangered eastern end of St Helier’s beach.

It will take two days for the sand to be transported by truck from town to neighbouring St Helier’s. There will be a very minor impact on traffic flow along Tamaki Drive.

Auckland City’s Traffic and Roading Services professional services manager, Neill Forgie, says replacing sand is an effective strategy to prevent coastal erosion and protect Tamaki Drive.

“The sand was surplus to requirements for Kohimarama Beach so we are able to take immediate action and use it to temporarily protect an at-risk part of the St Helier’s seawall.”

In June 2004 Council approved a report to restore sand on up to eight beaches across Auckland’s two harbours, at a cost of $5.3 million.

“We are now preparing a five year programme detailing how sand replenishment would be staged across the beaches. St Helier’s beach is considered a priority and we propose to use the same sand type as used at Kohi beach. We are also working with the Auckland Regional Council to identify potential sand sources for the other beaches,” says Mr Forgie.

The final barge load of sand was delivered to Kohimarama Beach on 28 October and the seawall is now protected.

ENDS

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