Planned Ocean Beach work on track

Dunedin (Thursday, 21 April 2016) – The replacement of storm damaged sand sausages at Ocean Beach is still on track to start in early to mid May.

Dunedin City Council Group Manager Parks and Recreation Richard Saunders says the DCC has called for tenders and the successful contractor will be appointed soon.

Fabric for the new sand sausages has already been purchased and Port Otago is supplying the sand required for the construction works. The sand will be delivered to an adjacent site from the end of next week.

The sand sausages protect the dunes from erosion in heavy seas. About 200m of sand sausages will be installed, which will protect the narrowest area of dunes.

Mr Saunders says, “After last year’s storms, we committed to doing this work. It’s taken us a while to get to this point, but we wanted to make sure what we planned to do was the right solution.”

Once a contractor has been appointed, the DCC will work with them on a safety plan.

“There may be times when public access to the beach is limited for safety reasons, but we will work with the contractor to keep these to a minimum. Signs will be put up when beach access, via the temporary ramp at St Clair, is closed.”

The work will have no effect on access points further down at St Kilda.

The aim is still to finish the work by mid June. Final costs won’t be known until the project has been completed.

Funding of $100,000 has been included in the draft 2016/17 budget for further investigation into the long term protection options for Ocean Beach. If confirmed, the funding will be used to develop a plan to address coastal erosion affecting Ocean Beach, including the St Clair seawall.

© Scoop Media