Emergency repairs to gabion revetment between Small Bay and Big Bay
15 May 2020
The City will, within the next few days, commence with the repair and upgrade of the collapsed gabion revetment between Big Bay and Small Bay near Bloubergstrand.
The Level 4 regulations allow for civil engineering for public works during the lockdown period.
Given the risk to the public infrastructure at Small Bay, as well as the risk it poses to the health and safety of the community, the remedial emergency repairs will commence on Monday, 18 May 2020, and will comprise the following:
the removal of the full length of the damaged gabion wall between Big Bay and Small Bay
replacing the damaged gabion with a geo-container revetment; and
the replacement of the damaged toe protection in front of the gabion wall at the lifesavers building with a geo-container toe protection to provide scour protection
‘The City’s Coastal Management Branch received funding in the current financial year for the design of a new revetment along this section of the coastline. Unfortunately, by the time the design was done and the tender awarded, the national lockdown took effect. Now that the restrictions have been eased, we can commence with this project, and we expect the contractor to be on site by Monday, if all goes as planned,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Marian Nieuwoudt.
The contractor is obliged to comply with the necessary health and safety protocols in terms of limiting the spread of COVID-19, and this safety plan has been presented to and endorsed by the City. The City will also monitor the project on site to ensure compliance.
Construction should be completed within 10 weeks, weather permitting.
‘We must keep in mind that high tide will have an impact on the construction site, and that the contractor will have limited working periods due to tidal influence. Winter is also approaching, thus, we will closely monitor the weather predictions for any potential risk or impact of storm events and big swell,’ said Alderman Nieuwoudt.
As is the case with all construction and repair work, there will be some inconvenience to the public.
Residents are advised as follows:
during the construction period, the walkway between Big Bay and Small Bay will be closed to the public for safety reasons. The pathway will be reopened once the construction work is complete;
the parking area at De Mist Street will be closed for the duration of the construction period to accommodate the construction site camp and beach access. Alternative parking is available at Popham Street and Pelegrini Street, or at Eden on the Bay during this period; and
to please refrain from accessing the beach between De Mist Street and the lifesaving ramp for their own safety
‘I want to point out that the work forming part of this project falls within the existing gabion wall footprint. Meaning, we did not need to apply for environmental authorisation. However, the City will have environmental oversight of the construction via a designated Environmental Control Officer to ensure compliance,’ said Alderman Nieuwoudt.
The June 2017 storm had a severe impact on the coastline south of Big Bay up to the northern end of Small Bay. The continued loss of sand and beach levels, along with successive wave action over the past two years has seen the gabion revetment collapse.
This gabion revetment was built 30 years ago to protect and defend this short section of exposed coastline and has lasted longer than expected. However, once the “toe” of the gabion was exposed by loss of sand levels, the continual abrasion by stones and pebbles being thrown against it by the wave action has caused the wire baskets to begin to break, fail, and collapse.
Once the wire baskets started collapsing, the pedestrian walkway between Big Bay and Small Bay also started collapsing. In 2019, winter storms significantly worsened the situation, with the complete structural failure of the gabion revetment, walkway and the toe protection of the gabion revetment in front of the lifesaving club.
‘The importance of this project to protect the integrity of this stretch of coastline cannot be overstated. The work will go along with some inconvenience and limited parking, but the local residents and visitors to Small Bay will hugely benefit from the project, once completed. Also, we will repair the walkway between Small Bay and Big Bay once the new gabion revetment has been installed,’ said Alderman Nieuwoudt.
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
