The contractor has completed construction of the raised planter boxes along the length of the promenade. The remainder of the new, mature trees have been planted. There are now a total of 18 new trees which are being protected by tree guards as they settle and mature. New turf will be laid closer to project completion.
The new promenade pathway construction is nearing completion. Site fencing will be adjusted in the coming weeks to allow works to the surrounding grass and garden beds.
In recent weeks the contractor has increased resourcing with multiple crews on site to complete grit blasting and concrete finish remediation. This work has progressed well; however, in October it was discovered some stairs within the seawall structure had been poured with dimensions that did not comply with the Building Code of Australia. While the discrepancies are minor, demolition and reconstruction of some stairs is necessary to make these compliant.
The difficult decision to demolish the defective stairs was made as this will provide the quickest resolution, while ensuring a consistent appearance. This work will not impact the underlying structure or reinforcement. Demolition of most of the affected stair flights has already been completed, and the first stair was repoured on 29 October. The contractor is completing this work at their own cost with additional resources. The contractor has committed to completing these by late November when the sheet pile wall is now scheduled for removal.
The additional work required to rectify the defective stairs has unfortunately impacted on the overall completion timeframe of the project. This is now scheduled for mid-December, subject to weather and coastal conditions. NSW Public Works and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service are continually reviewing the program to assess progress and find time savings.
Temporary sheet pile removal
Due to the nature of this project, weather conditions do have an unavoidable and significant impact on the progress of works. Many work activities are unsafe to undertake during rainy conditions, and concrete surfaces need to be dry to enable completion of the concrete finishes.
The removal of the temporary steel sheet pile wall that separates the work site from the harbour will be very exposed to coastal conditions and may need to be paused during high tides and periods of high swells.
Removal of the temporary sheet pile wall is expected to release natural silt material from the stockpiled beach sands. This silt material is naturally occurring material that has been present within Shark Beach at depths below the usual upper beach layer, which has been brought to the surface during construction of the footings to the new seawall.
The exposure of this material to wave action may release fine silt materials resulting in some short-term discolouration in the water around Shark Beach particularly during the removal of the temporary sheet piles. Environmental advice provided at the start of construction will be implemented to contain and control this, including installation of a sediment barrier along the beach. Any discolouration is expected to resolve rapidly, as silt settles back to its usual lower levels within the beach with normal wave and tidal movements.
How the beach will look
Once the contractor removes the temporary sheet pile wall the natural sand of Shark Beach will be replenished by normal wave action. The full height and width of the new concrete structure is currently exposed and visible along much of the beach. Once the seawall is completed and sheet pile wall removed, natural wave action will wash sand up against the new seawall, covering one or two of the lower bleacher levels and restoring the width of the beach.
As before, the beach levels will vary with time as natural wave action removes and replenishes the sand. The new structure is set back slightly further from the harbour than the previous seawall, and the width of the promenade path has been slightly reduced, which will increase the amount of beach space available for visitors.
Section view mark-up of the anticipated beach sand level once the temporary sheet pile wall is removed.
Visitor access
Shark Beach will remain closed to visitors until the completion of the project. In the interest of everyone’s safety, we kindly request that all visitors refrain from entering the construction site, be it through fencing or water. This area is not safe for visitors.
We appreciate and understand that the project delays are very frustrating, but we are committed to delivering the project to specification so that this public infrastructure meets its design life of 100 years. All parties involved are working hard to achieve overall completion as soon as possible.
More information
For the latest information, please refer to the project webpage. This is regularly updated as information becomes available. Questions and comments are welcome, and anyone can sign up to receive these updates. Just complete the online form on the project webpage.
The construction of the new promenade is nearing completion. Photo taken 17 October 2024. 
Multiple crews are working on the concrete remediation and grit blasting to the bleachers. Photo taken 17 October 2024. 
The contractor has undertaken selective reconstruction of some bleacher stairs to comply with Building Code of Australia requirements. Photo taken 24 October 2024.