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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
National
Matthew Kelly

Fortress Stockton nearing completion as wild weather looms

Work on Stockton's new buried seawall is on track for a mid-year completion.

The seawall, which runs opposite the houses running from 189 to 209 Mitchell Street, has been constructed with vertical, overlapping concrete beams. Large rock bags are then placed on top of the structure.

The project will shore up the future of the town that has lost more than 10 million cubic metres of sand from it's beach and seen the seabed drop seven metres due to erosion, threatening homes, infrastructure and community assets.

"This is just the protective aspect, the emergency works that were needed to protect stockton. What will be added is the massive sand renourishment and that's progressing as well," Stockton Community Liaison Group chairwoman Barbara Whitcher said.

The state government has committed $21 million for mass sand nourishment as part of a long term solution for the beach's erosion woes.

"The council has invested a huge amount of money and we have the commitment on the sand. It's now just about time and waiting to complete the procedures," Ms Witcher said.

"As far as the massive sand (renourishment) is concerned, we know we are going to get it. People are feeling a lot better than they were a couple of years ago."

Sand scraping, which mimics the natural beach recovery process, being used to complement the engineering works.

"Sand scraping was particularly effective when we had bad weather earlier in the year. The council is doing sand scraping on a regular basis now and it really makes a difference," Whitcher said.

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