New buried seawall, Southern end of Mitchell Street seawall
We are delivering a range of emergency repairs and long-term works to help manage, maintain and preserve Stockton's coastline.
The Stockton CMP 2020 outlined a series of short and long-term actions. These actions include construction of more permanent protection structures, which are required to shield the shoreline and reduce the chance of inundation during large swells.
One of these structures is a new buried seawall at the southern end of the Mitchell Street rock seawall.
What are we building?
The new terminal structure we are building is a buried seawall constructed with vertical, overlapping concrete beams.
What will it look like?
Where will this be located?
The buried seawall is being constructed along the footway behind the Stockton Beach escarpment, opposite the houses running from 189 to 209 Mitchell Street.
When did construction start?
We originally planned to commence construction of this first structure in May 2023. We postponed the start of construction to enable a review of the construction methodology, and to gain a better understanding of how the new structure may interact with future works being considered to manage erosion immediately south of the site at The Pines area.
Following completion of this review, construction of the buried seawall commenced in September.
We will continue to work with Worimi Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAP) to ensure these works respect the significance of the Stockton coastline to the Worimi people, and protects their heritage.
Emergency sandbags at the southern end of the Mitchell Street rock seawall have been repaired and an additional two layers of rock bags have been placed at the base of the emergency structure to provide stability until the new vertical structure is complete.
How might the work affect you?
Construction is estimated to be completed in mid 2024. Activities will be staged to minimise disruption where possible.
The work will involve truck movement and the use of machinery which generates some noise, vibration and dust. We will make every effort to minimise the impact and ensure noisy activities do not commence before 7am.
The sand and soil that is excavated to enable construction will be used on the beach to create a stable pad for machinery. Along with the temporary placement of rock bags and sand bags, this will help protect the area during large swells experienced in the construction period.
These works will require closure of a section of the beach to ensure public safety and to aid in protecting the area from further erosion.
Once the works are complete, the excavated sand and soil will be returned to fill the trench, with rock bags in place to again protect against large swells in advance of mass sand nourishment, and re-planting of vegetation where possible.
What impact will the work have on the use of Mitchell Street?
During construction, Mitchell Street will remain open under traffic control. The south bound travel lane and seaward parking lane will be impacted during our works, with detours in place. Traffic controllers will be present to allow traffic flow and resident access on the remaining northbound lane.
In instances where access will be temporarily impacted, you will be notified within a reasonable timeframe to park your vehicle in an accessible space.
Garbage bin collections will not be impacted.
How is it funded?
The project has been co-funded by the NSW Government via a grant from the Coastal and Estuary Grants Program.
Latest News
28 March 2023 - Works to start at Stockton's Mitchell Street seawall
28 December 2022 - NSW Government funding for Stockton protection structure
12 December 2022 - Protection for Stockton Beach
1 October 2022 - Works continue to protect Stockton's coastline
