The news comes as Dunedin City Council staff consider how best to reclaim and secure St Clair Beach, and ensure there is no future slumping.
The preliminary report from contractors who assessed the section of the Esplanade walkway from Forbury Rd to Beach St yesterday, found no problems with it, council roading maintenance engineer Peter Standring said last night.
Safety cordons put up around the area after a 50m section at its north end was undermined, are expected to be removed today.
However, the affected area, in front of the South Coast Board Riders Association club rooms, will remain closed for at least several months.
Although people would not see much visible progress in the short term, the containment of the foot of the wall was progressing well, Mr Standring said.
Two-thirds of the vertical sheet piling was in place, some concrete backfill was in and more was to come.
He said there would be several stages to dealing with the issues at the Esplanade.
They were the damage control being done now, the assessment of the structural integrity of the damaged area - likely to start next week - and the long-term remediation of the beach sands.
The loss of sand from the St Clair Beach over time and another 1m washed away during high tides and heavy seas two weeks ago, resulted in the lowest beach level many had seen and left the base of the sea wall exposed.
That allowed water to flush behind the wall, sucking out the backfill and causing the bricks above to collapse.
Now the urgent repair work had begun, the council was starting to think about the long term and what could be done to protect the wall from the sea, Mr Standring said.
''We need to get out of a situation where we've lost so much beach, and keep the material here.''
The council would be looking for the appropriate geotechnical/coastal erosion expertise to advise on such things as sediment migration and the long term stability of the beach sands.
The cost of controlling the damage was mounting.
''It'll be hundreds of thousands for the stabilising work, but going forward, I'd hate to hazard a guess,'' he said.
