A damaged concrete seawall that fronted Sydney Harbour for almost a century is being replaced with a new concrete wall to deal with adverse weather and rising sea levels.
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is replacing the wall at Neilsen Park that was badly damaged by waves in a large storm in 2016. The park with its seawall was listed on the state’s heritage register in 2018.
While some sections of the sandstone seawall along the western part of the harbourside beach have been repaired, the 160-metre concrete sea wall reached the end of its serviceable life, the NPWS said.
“NPWS has demolished the old seawall and is constructing a new seawall more capable of withstanding adverse weather conditions and sea level rise, while improving accessibility to the beach,” the government agency explained.
It has been a four-year journey since site investigations, analysis and concept plans were produced in 2020 and development and heritage approvals were received in 2021. A construction contractor procured that year was eventually replaced in 2023 after the original concrete seawall was demolished in 2022.
Construction of the new concrete seawall commenced in 2023 and the wall, along with concrete bleachers and promenade, is expected to be completed by October 2024.
About the author
Desi Corbett
Desi is the Editor of Concrete in Australia and at the helm of our magazine for 8 years. She was behind the Institute's weekly news bulletins from 2016-2021 and is now writing our focused news items. Desi has been an engineering news and features journalist/editor across all disciplines since 2013 - part of a 30-year career writing for a wide range of industries.