Off-shore dredging work, using a specialised vessel for pumping sand back onto beaches up and down the Gold Coast is expected to begin in the Surfers Paradise area next week.
The City of Gold Coast has engaged the Hopper Dredge the Trud R to complete work to help revitalise beaches at Surfers Paradise, Main Beach and Narrowneck. This unique boat from Rohde Nielsen needs a draught of merely 3.8m when fully loaded. As a result, it unloads the material in a very exact, quick, and highly economical way. Trud R can dredge at depths of 28 metres, and has considerable experience on the Gold Coast.
The dredge work is expected to begin next week, weather permitting, and may start earlier.
“We have been working hard to return our beaches to their pristine conditions ever since the severe weather left severe scarping and damage,” Mayor Tom Tate said.
“This vessel will help replenish the sand which was lost from the beaches during Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
“This work is being done in conjunction with our work onshore which includes moving sand from our sand stockpile, reprofiling works and knocking down scarps.”
Work is expected to take about 8 weeks, weather permitting as the vessel cannot operate in high swells.
The City has also partnered with the Gold Coast Waterways Authority (GCWA), which has started dredge works at the Seaway, Narrowneck, and Coomera Rivers and will place the sand offshore at Narrowneck beach.
