$130k fix for harbour walkway

Work has started on a permanent $130,000 fix for Tauranga's popular harbourside walkway at Matua.
All going well, the badly eroded section of walkway should be reopened in a couple of months.
It was badly damaged when the combination of a storm surge and king tides pounded the walkway between Shaw Park and the small reserve at the bottom of Otumoetai Rd.
The storm on January 23 once again illustrated the vulnerability of the walkway, prompting Tauranga City Council to swiftly draw up plans for a permanent fix that had already proved itself on Beach Rd, further around the harbour.
City parks team manager, Steve Webb, said a rock sea wall was being built directly in front of the walkway which would be rebuilt in concrete.
The seawall, ranging in height from 300mm to 1m, will absorb the impact of the surges and protect the walkway.
It will run from the reserve to the large macrocarpa tree, where it will link up with the council's existing project to improve the walkway for the remaining distance to Shaw Park.
Mr Webb said the council's quick response was recognition of the popularity of the walkway. It was the second most heavily used walkway in the city after Mauao's base track.
Last month, outspoken Tauranga electronics technician Cedric Sutherland offered his services to the council to ensure a permanent solution was found. He advocated a seawall but feared that the biggest obstacle would be getting permission from the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.
Mr Webb said the walkway and seawall was on Crown land, which the council looked after. Both the Department of Conservation and the regional council had raised no objections to the work going ahead.
The council's engineering advice was for a seawall, with the plans going out to the industry for prices. The winning contractor was Higgins Construction.