Almost 2,000 tonnes of rock has been rolled in to protect the sea front at Onaero and Urenui as part of a project by New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) to reinforce the sea walls.
Council has completed the new sea wall at Onaero, which had slumped due to large waves and gravity. The project focus then shifted to Urenui last week, with work underway at the site.
“Getting these rocks in place means the sea walls will once again work as designed and help reduce erosion in these areas,” says NPDC Manager Parks and Open Spaces, Stuart Robertson.
“There’s a lot of power behind the west coast waves, especially during storms, and they can get behind these boulders and force a sea wall out of shape. We’ve been working on sections of New Plymouth’s sea wall as well, for the same reason.”
The work has been timed for March/April as there is less chance of interrupting penguin nesting, he said.
The $40,000 project in Onaero involved 400 tonnes of rock, while 1,500 tonnes of rock is going into the $107,000 job at Urenui.
The municipality has 23 sea walls in its district, with the coast stretching around 98km from Mokau River in the north to the Hangatahua River in the south. Council also manages 68 hectares of coastal dunes.
