NETWORK Rail has finished upgrading the first section of the sea wall at Dawlish, with the installation of new low energy LED lighting and concrete seating along the sea wall.
The project costing £80m adds resilience to a vulnerable section of line and was instigated after storms on February 4/5, 2014, which destroyed the sea wall in several places, cutting the main line to Cornwall for eight weeks.
The new lighting and seating will allow people to walk along the 360m-long promenade both in the day and darker evenings, as well as enjoy the views of the sea while relaxing from one of the 14 concrete benches along the promenade. Work on the second section of the new sea wall – a 415m stretch between the Colonnade breakwater west of the station to the Coastguard breakwater east of the station – began last November and is progressing.
A total of 143 concrete wall panels have now been successfully installed and the curved wave returns that sit on top of the wall panels are continuing to be added.