Coalcliff drilling

GEOTECHNICAL drilling Wwill be undertaken at Coalcliff and North Wollongong Beach this week.
The works will investigate the soil make up at both locations, and allow for future planning of seawall works at the sites.
The testing rig uses hydraulic percussion to drive a steel tube into the ground. The soil is collected in a continuous plastic liner and tests for soil strength is carried out at different depths.
Due to the size of the equipment, and the noise it can generate, there will be a perimeter around the machine while it’s in operation.
Provided the weather is suitable, there will be about six holes drilled on the grassed terrace in front of Coalcliff Surf Life Saving Club today (Tuesday February 2) between 8am-6pm.
On Wednesday February 3 the equipment will be moved to North Wollongong and up to eight holes will be dug in the vicinity of Galvin Park and the North Beach Bathers Pavilion. Works will take place between 7.30am-6pm.
“Collecting soil samples is a really important part of planning for the future works in these environmentally challenging sites and I’d like to thank the community for their patience as we carry out this work this week,’’ Wollongong City Council’s Infrastructure and Works Director Mike Hyde said.
“Our intention is to look at whether a specific type of seawall, where we use anchored Triton mattress seawalls, would work in these two locations. We have successfully used this type of seawall previously at Brighton Basin but these locations are particularly exposed to high tides, seas and swell. We need to assess whether it would work at Coalcliff and North Wollongong.’’
Council is currently carrying out remediation works at Coalcliff beach and a replacement seawall is part of a long term solution for this area. There is no immediate plan to carry out seawall works in North Wollongong.
For more information contact Council’s Customer Service on (02) 4227 7111 or visit www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au