The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) will replenish sand levels at Marengo to protect critical infrastructure behind the foreshore, reports the Otway Coast Committee.
Contractors will transport 16,000 cubic meters of sand from Apollo Bay Harbor to Marengo, creating an additional three meters of sand dune along 500 meters of beach.
DELWP Land and Built Environment Program Manager Frances Northeast said: “ By providing an immediate buffer from winter storms, the additional sand will safeguard infrastructure including the Great Ocean Road path, public car parking and the Great Ocean Road foundation .”
“ The sand for this project will be dredged from the Apollo Bay Harbor, where an excess of sand has built up ,” added Frances Northeast. “ The upcoming works build on a sand renourishment undertaken at Marengo last year, which averted further erosion behind the foreshore. ”
The Marengo foreshore will be closed during the works, however the public can access the beach outside of construction hours.
The $100,000 works are being carried out by DELWP with the support of the Otway Coast Committee.
In the coming weeks, DELWP will also provide support for a Colac Otway Shire Council sand renourishment project at Apollo Bay, where storms have caused significant erosion along the foreshore.