TRESB project

In the 1950s the Tweed River entrance on thge southern Gold Coast began to close up from sand deposition. This caused a problem to the ships entering and leaving the port. In 1962 the government built breakwaters either side of the entrance to stop this build up. This short term solution was already showing weaknesses in 1965 when they had to extend it further. This would prove a bad mistake.

the Tweed River entrance

The breakwaters stopped the process of longshore drift cuasing buildup on the breakwater which would then extend past the barriers increasing the speed of the entrance silting up. The breakwater solution was not a viable one and the entrance had to be continually dredged to stop it from clogging up. This was an expensive solution and a new long term solution was needed.

The Tweed River Entrance Sand Bypassing Project was started in an attempt to stop the buildup of sand on the breakwater and transfer it to the beach beyond the entrance to the river. This is done by pumping sand from the breakwater, under the Tweed River and back out and onto the beach. In March 2001 it was operational.

One critiscism of the project is that the beaches of the Gold Coast are now much wider and that the legendary break at Kirra beach has now completely dissapeared. It is said that the beaches will return to their natural state in a few years. It is still a negative effect for the surfing community in the area but is still considered a success by the government in allowing shipping from free access to the port.