Western Section of the Coastal Pathway begins

Published on 04 September 2023

The Cooee to Wynyard Coastal Pathway is a joint project between the Burnie City Council (BCC) and Waratah-Wynyard Council (WWC) and is made possible through State Government funding of $13.86 million, alongside funding commitments by both Councils. The successful contractor, Shaw Contracting, will be commencing construction this week.

On Monday, 4 September Mayor Teeny Brumby, Mayor Mary Duniam and Senior Project Manager Mike Luttrell from Shaw Contracting, came together where the two paths will meet to represent the collaboration, commitment, and determination of both BCC and WWC to see this project come together.

“This is an exciting milestone achievement and displays both Council’s cooperation, tenacity, and vision to ensuring our municipalities experience the benefits of improved infrastructure and connectivity.” – Said Dr Mary Duniam, Mayor of Waratah-Wynyard Council.

Burnie City Council Mayor Teeny Brumby added, “The Western section of the Coastal Pathway will link our communities and bring a new, dynamic energy to our coast – benefiting our residents with the ability to safely walk, bike or jog along a coastline that is truly beautiful and unique to our region.”

Mike Luttrell, Senior Project Manager from Shaw Contracting commented that: “Shaw Contracting are very happy to have won the Cooee to Wynyard portion of the multi–NW Council Project. The project [will] link up Red Rock, Cooee with Port Creek, Wynyard with a 2.6m wide shared pedestrian / cycle path.”

“The path will link in with pre-existing sections of the proposed Coastal Pathways project [and] involves the construction of approximately 14km of new asphalt pathway. In general, [it will be] largely located within the Strategic Infrastructure Corridor (SIC) following the disused section of railway. Works will consist of removing the old railway infrastructure, installing new safety and penguin fencing, pavement materials and asphalt path. As part of the works, there will be 7 sections of beach stabilised with armour rock to prevent beach erosion.”

The beachside revetments from Cooee to Camdale, will begin on Monday 18 September 2023, with an expected completion date of late November 2023. The commencement of the pavement works will begin thereafter. The path from Cooee to Camdale will be sealed for potential handover in February 2024.

The Somerset to Wynyard section will commence in mid-October 2023, starting by lifting the railway, followed by erosion works before the pavement can go down. Pavement and fencing will then take place in December 2023. The sealing of the Somerset to Wynyard section is expected to be completed in September 2024.