A section of a St Clair beach ramp in Dunedin might soon be
removed, after it broke away and fell on to rocks below.
The problem is a continuation of damage that occurred about
six weeks ago, when heavy seas hit the ramp so hard the
concrete cracked, and steel reinforcing was exposed.
Information was scarce at the weekend, but Dunedin City
Council community life general manager Graeme Hall said
yesterday workers had looked at the ramp late last week, and
"they are looking at removing it".
Mr Hall said he could not say whether a report was going to
the council on the issue.
The recent damage is the third time the ramp has failed since
the seawall was built in 2004.
The ramp was damaged twice in three months during storms late
in 2004 and early in 2005, not long after the seawall was
built.
Nearby stairs were also damaged at the time.
A council report after those incidents found the failures
were caused by a combination of construction and design
faults.
Design consultant Duffill Watts and King and construction
company Naylor Love agreed to strengthen and repair the ramp
and staircase at no cost to the council, and the facilities
were replaced in 2007.
The most recent damage appears to be in the same area, with
materials used to reinforce the ramp having failed.
Community development committee chairman Bill Acklin said
last night as far as he was concerned, the ramp needed to be
fixed, and the finer details of who was at fault could be
worked out while that was being done.
Cr Acklin promised to look into the situation today, and
provide the public with information on the future of the
ramp.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.