Raised railway defences against sea taking shape
THE size and scale of the new Dawlish sea wall is becoming clearer as special wave defences have begun to be installed.
The ‘recurve’ panels, which will deflect the power of the waves away from land and back out to sea, have started to be added to the top of the wall by Network Rail.
The £30m scheme along Marine Parade aims to protect the railway for the next 100 years and to improve the long-term resilience of the railway linking Devon and Cornwall to the rest of the UK.
The scheme will raise the wall from its current height of 5m to 7.5m, widen the walkway to 4m from its current 3.1m width, and include a barrier between pedestrians and the edge to stop people falling off the wall. The design is set to prevent stormy conditions from damaging the railway at Dawlish.
Work on the new sea wall continues to take place despite the coronavirus pandemic and still is scheduled to be completed before the peak summer season.
Progress has also been made on the new sea wall planned between Coastguards and Colonnade – the section to the east of Dawlish station – and Network Rail have confirmed they are aiming to put in their planning submission, including listed building consent, in May.
A spokesman added: “At Marine Parade, progress continues to be made as Network Rail works within COVID-19 construction guidelines, with 134 of the 144 panels now installed. The recurve panels have now also started to be added with 18 now in place, which gives the size and scale of the new wall.
“The next stage sees work start on construction of the footpath and completion of Boat Cove tie-in. The sea wall is on target to reopen in time for the peak summer season.
“Progress has also been made on the new sea wall planned between Coastguards and Colonnade – the section to the east of Dawlish station. Network Rail aim to put in the planning submission, including listed building consent, in May.”
The new sea wall is part of a series of measures along the coast to protect the only railway line that connects 50 towns and cities in Devon and Cornwall with the rest of the country.
David Lovell, senior programme manager for the South West Rail Resilience Programme, had previously said of the project: “The Dawlish sea wall will protect this iconic section of railway and the coastal footpath for generations to come.”
When plans for the new sea wall were approved back in April 2019, Teignbridge planners were told that while the new concrete sea wall would be 2.5m higher than the existing wall, it was the height needed in order to provide the solution that Network Rail require.
Colin Field, from Network Rail, told the committee that the catastrophic failure of the sea wall in 2014 had devastating effects and was not something that people wanted to happen again as it impacted across the whole peninsula.
There had been concerns that the height of the scheme will “destroy Dawlish’s charm and stop people visiting the town”.
However, the committee agreed that the future of the railway line was paramount.