The almost 500m-long balustrade at the top of the Esplanade seawall will be replaced with a polished high-grade stainless steel version in stages over the next few months.
Dunedin City Council group manager transport Jeanine Benson said there were sections where the existing railing had corroded, posing a potential hazard.
‘‘The new railings are polished high-grade stainless steel, therefore will be resistant to further corrosion and rusting.’’
Work would progress in 30m sections, reaching the St Clair Hot Salt Water Pool before the end of the year.
The new sections would be prefabricated off-site to keep any on-site work to a minimum.
A small amount of protective scaffolding would be placed along the top of the seawall beside each section being swapped out.
The work would be carried out during working hours, although contractors might need to adjust the schedule depending on tidal movements and weather.
The design of the balustrades and framing would remain the same, although would increase in height to reflect regulation updates.
The project has a budget of $655,000.
