Repaired Sea Wall Passes First Test

The repaired sea wall along a section of New Plymouth’s Coastal Walkway has passed its first big test with flying colours.

The recent high seas saw large waves washing across and over the top of the sea wall on several days, with the section of Coastal Walkway beneath the Woolcombe Tce cliffs closed to the public on one day last week as a result of particularly large waves.

But no significant damage has been caused, with the modified boulder wall performing as designed says Manager Projects Team Jeff Bondy.

“There are several sizable logs newly deposited on top of the wall in a number of places, indicating that large swells have given the wall a good workout,” he says.

“Several rocks have been displaced – as expected in such high seas, and we’ll move them back into position during a future maintenance programme – but the wall itself has succeeded in dispersing the sea’s energy and minimising any damage.

“I’d give the sea wall a solid pass mark after the buffeting it’s had this last week or so.”

The sea wall was strengthened and reshaped earlier this year as a result of damage caused in a big storm in September 2005 that coincided with a king tide. The work made the boulder wall deeper and less steep, resulting in the sea’s energy being dispersed more effectively across the structure.

The council will be keeping an eye on the Coastal Walkway during the next storm, which is due to arrive in Taranaki tonight.

“Every storm is different, as are the sea conditions that come with them,” says Mr Bondy.

“We can never guarantee that a structure built to withstand the sea will hold up under every single storm, but I’m confident the sea wall is more likely to work effectively in its current shape than it did previously.”