Resanding gets going at seaside suburb

Kohimarama beach was resanded in 2004. File picture / Bradley Ambrose Click on 'more pictures' below for a graphic of how the St Heliers work will be done.

A $10 million project has begun to restore St Heliers beach and improve local stormwater drains to stop flooding after heavy rain.

Work started this week on resanding the beach with 35,000cu m of sand dredged 4km off the Pakiri coast, north of Auckland - the same grain, size and colour of sand that was pumped to shore to create a new beach at Kohimarama two years ago.

Resanding the beach and building new seawalls is costing $4.3 million.

Separate work is due to start next month on a $5.8 million stormwater upgrade to reduce flooding and stormwater run-off from Tamaki Drive on to St Heliers beach.

Eastern Bays community board chairman Brian Slater said flooding on The Parade and Vale Rd "hasn't been good and hasn't been sanitary" and after a five-year wait the community was feeling good about the stormwater upgrade.

It made sense to resand the beach and fix the damaged seawall at the same time.

The projects would cause some disruption, particularly to residents of The Parade, who were at present having their powerlines put under ground followed by the digging of a trench down the middle of the road to lay new stormwater pipes, Mr Slater said.

The stormwater project includes upgrading the lighting along Tamaki Drive from Auckland Rd, The Parade and Dingle walkway.

The first sand is expected to be pumped from a barge pontoon moored 500m off the beach to shore next month. The operation will begin at the centre of the 600m beach and move westwards to a new artificial headland.

The first stage is expected to take three months and will be followed by a second stage from the centre to the eastern end of the beach in September. The new beach is expected to be completed in December.

Auckland City Council professional services manager Neill Forgie said the sea was lapping at the seawall on Tamaki Drive in places and a storm had already caused a section of the wall to collapse. The seawall was built on sloppy mud without proper foundations.

The new beach, which would be about 10m deep at high tide in the centre and 25m to 30m at each end, would protect the new seawall from erosion.

St Heliers is one of 10 beaches in Auckland City to be resanded.

Mission Bay was resanded in 1996 at a cost of $2.2 million, followed by Kohimarama in 2004 costing $6 million.

Pt Chevalier beach will be done in 2008, followed by Pt England, Blockhouse Bay, Taylor's Reserve and three Herne Bay beaches.