Lord Mayoral duties can take me all over our Local Government Area on any given day.
I really love seeing and experiencing the breadth of Council’s work for our community and enjoy the opportunity to hear directly from our residents about things that are important to them.
And one big project that has captured a lot of people’s attention is the second stage of works on the seawall and promenade at North Wollongong.
Which is why, on a picture-perfect winter’s day last Friday, I was pleased to take the opportunity to breathe in the sea air and visit the site for an update.
Things are really moving forward on the multi-million dollar project that, once finished, will see the existing promenade and seawall extend all the way along the foreshore to between the North Wollongong Surf Club and North Beach Bathers Pavilion.
Right now, it is all very much a worksite. There are people wearing high-vis everywhere and heavy equipment and tools on site and in use.
From the beach you can see, six-metre-long metal screw pile sections lying on the sand and waiting for their moment be pushed through the sand and down to the bedrock as footings for the seawall. Once in, they’ll go to a depth of approximately 10-12 metres which is well beyond the few metres of sand that you can see on the beach.
X marks the spot of those piles in place with approximately 100 to go in total before the next stage of the works can start which will see the start of the importing of fill around the piles, a new concrete base slab and then lifting in the new pre-cast concrete steps.
With the project making good progress, the team have been able to adjust the site fencing along the Blue Mile shared pathway, which remains open during the project. By resequencing the works to allow for more on site storage of materials, it has allowed for the compound to remain separate from the site, and widened the pathway between the kiosk and pavilion buildings.
This is great news for people using this popular site as we know fencing was making it a little tricker and more congested, particularly on a sunny weekend.
As for the kiosk building, I was fascinated to hear how the team are overcoming the environmental challenges they’re uncovering within the building as they carry out essential repairs.
The brickwork here has really suffered the ravages of the harsh seaside conditions and, as more investigations have been made, it’s clear just how the mortar has disintegrated and the bricks are crumbling.
I take my hat off to the team for their patience as they work to preserve this heritage building as best they can – down to numbering each of the bricks as they’re removed so they can be cleaned and returned to exactly the same place – and finding ways of working that balance preservation and construction techniques to ensure the building is here for the next generations to enjoy.
The team has also pretty much wrapped up the works on the North Beach Bathers Pavilion. Here they repointed the external brickwork, carried out crack repairs and cleaned and replaced the damaged stringers (the brown concrete strip that runs around the building above its windows).
It is a real positive to see this project moving forward. This is an essential piece of work to help protect our coastline and improve accessibility to North Wollongong beach for everyone.
Once finished, people will be able to enjoy the Emma McKeon AM Promenade for many years to come. And right now, it remains on track to be completed by mid-2027.
