The cost of fixing the storm-damaged West Beach rock wall has now been put at $5m, twice as much as six months ago

SIX months ago we were told it’d cost $2.5m to rebuild a storm-damaged rock wall that’s left a popular beach path in Adelaide closed for more than a year. Today, the cost is put at $5m.

Stairway leading to the sand at West Beach, near Chetwynd St, has been closed off since it was damaged in July, 2014. Picture: Thomas Conlin.

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THE cost of rebuilding the storm-damaged West Beach rock wall has almost doubled, leaving Charles Sturt Council with a shortfall of about $1 million.

It’s now tipped it’ll cost more than $5 million to fix up the sea wall, up from the $2.5 million estimated by the council in December.

The cost blowout was revealed at a council workshop on Monday night in plans from coastal engineers KBR, seen by the Westside Weekly.

Storms smashing the coastline at West Beach in 2016. Pic: Thomas Conlin.

The State Government committed $1.25 million to the project in last week’s State Budget, as previously foreshadowed, and it is understood the council and fellow stakeholder Adelaide Shores will now have to cover the shortfall.

Charles Sturt has $1.3 million allocated for the project in its 2017/18 budget, plus $270,000 already set aside, meaning it will now need to find more than $1.1 million extra.

About 400m of the path will need to be rebuilt in Charles Sturt, beginning just north of the West Beach Surf Life Saving Club down to Adelaide Shores in the south.

The rock wall and coastal path at West Beach, which has been closed off, was severely damaged by storms in May 2016. Pic: Patrick Keam.

It is understood Adelaide Shores will be asked to contribute an extra $1.1 million to repair its section of the wall, up from an original $150,000.

Charles Sturt did not respond to inquiries from the Westside Weekly and it is unknown how the council will fund the added cost.

Henley ward councillor Jassmine Wood said fixing the rock wall was high on her agenda, along with a solution for sand erosion and a new surf lifesaving club.

“Costings have just come back for the rock wall and we now need to find additional funds due to a shortfall in the budget but I’m confident we’ll find a solution,” she said.

“As a priority I am doing everything I can to ensure both residents and visitors alike can once again have a beautiful, accessible beach at all times of the year.”

The rock wall was originally damaged during significant storms in May 2015 and was again lashed with severe storms and a tidal event in May 2016, eroding parts of a coastal path.

The path has been closed as a result ever since.

Because of significant sand erosion and the failed sea wall at West Beach, the surf lifesaving club is expected to move from its current location, with its preferred site believed to be Harold and Cynthia Anderson Reserve.

Mrs Wood said location options for the new surf club would soon be going out for consultation with local residents and club members.

The State Government is also in a tender process to employ a contractor to undertake a $70,000 study of West Beach.

The study will involve a sea-floor survey to about 500m out to gain a more detailed understanding of wave action and sand movement.

More than 60,000 cubic metres of sand, equivalent to about 25 Olympic swimming pools, has been dumped on West Beach by the State Government since May to prepare it for winter.