Paekākāriki seawall construction delayed

The Kāpiti Coast District Council’s plans to start building the replacement seawall along The Parade in Paekākāriki this financial year have been delayed.

The seawall has been in place for 38 years and has reached the end of its life. The Council made $10.9million available in its Long term plan 2015-35 to fund the renewal of the existing seawall.

Infrastructure Services Group Manger Sean Mallon says the project has been delayed in response to an external peer review of the original proposed option, which involved using a form of PVC sheet piles.

“The peer review has highlighted some issues with the PVC option that can be designed around but the Council has decided that this is not something it wants to take any further.

“The PVC piles allow for some flexibility when under surcharge. Aesthetically this would appear like a bulge in the wall and this was deemed unacceptable, so we are now looking at alternative material options like concrete, timber, and rock,” said Mr Mallon.

Work was scheduled to commence this financial year with an expected project completion date of June 2019.

“The delay in starting work may impact our maintenance budget as we will need to maintain the existing seawall. However, it is important that we take the time to get this right.”

Revised plans and costs for the renewal of the existing seawall are expected to be presented to the Council later this year.