Waves punch big hole in sea wall
Vanishing beaches courtesy of ongoing storms have been blamed for the hole smashed in a sea wall at Paekakariki.
Council infrastructure services group manager Sean Mallon said the council became aware of the problem on Monday morning, assessed the damage then started work in the late afternoon.
The council would fill the hole with heavy rocks, without replac- ing the timber frontage.
He said the beach had dropped significantly along the Paekakariki beach front.
‘‘The sand levels are so low we might have to do a bit of remedial work just to make sure if we get more nasty weather it’s not going to destroy another section of the wall.’’
He said the ‘‘consistent bad weather’’ and the age of the wall - 35 years plus - had combined with a dropping beach level.
‘‘It’s the lowest I’ve seen it in terms of the level of the beach, and it’s exposed all of the concrete footing ... for the wall.’’
High tides and big seas had pulled sand off the beach then big waves had got behind the timber wall and pulled material out as well. Several metres of the wall had been destroyed and the council was replacing that section with rock.
The contract for the $10.6 million replacement sea wall, covering about 900 metres, would be known by August.
Mallon said it was too early to confirm whether construction proper could start this year.
The Kapiti Coast District Council posted on Facebook on Monday that waves caused by strong winds had eroded a section of the Paekakariki beach front near Ocean Rd.
‘‘We’re getting rocks dropped off on to the damaged area to try and protect the road.
If possible, please keep clear of The Parade as trucks transporting the rocks will be going up and down the road.’’
A Paekakariki resident watching the work to repair the seawall said the damage was ‘‘impressive’’, and at a point along The Parade were there appeared to have been some deterioration from a previous storm.
The rough seas at the last high tide - about midday on Monday - had seen the wall get a battering, he said.
The council held a community meeting last weekend about a planned new sea wall.