McGennan's Beach Boardwalk and Access Ramp
McGennan's Beach Boardwalk and Access Ramp - NatureTREAD™
McGennan’s Beach sits along Warrnambool’s southern coastline, adjacent to the McGennan’s car park. The old timber stairs had been closed for years, no longer safe for public use. As part of the 2022 Beach Access Strategy, Warrnambool City Council partnered with Treadwell Group to rebuild the access point as an all-abilities ramp, officially opened in September 2025.
Treadwell was engaged to supply FRP grating and structural profiles engineered specifically for the demands of this exposed coastal site.
Engineered for Coastal Conditions
Treadwell’s engineering team designed the ramp and stairs to withstand rough Southern Ocean conditions, with footings extending up to six metres below the beach surface. This depth of design reflects Treadwell’s approach to coastal infrastructure: solving for the environment first, not retrofitting a standard product to suit it.
Material Expertise That Sets Treadwell Apart
The structure was built using Treadwell’s premium FRP product range, paired with marine-grade stainless steel — a deliberate shift away from older beach access designs and toward materials Treadwell has purpose-engineered for harsh coastal environments.
Project Challenges
- Delivering genuine all-abilities access in a high-use coastal location, supporting people with mobility challenges.
- Selecting materials durable enough to withstand harsh Southern Ocean conditions while maintaining long-term safety and performance.
- Designing a structure resilient to large fluctuations in sand levels around the dunes.
Project Information
- NatureTREAD™ FRP Balustrades
- EX-Series® GratEX® FRP Mini Mesh Grating
- ArchitEX® FRP Structural Profiles
NatureTREAD™
- Treadwell's FRP products are manufactured from premium resin systems engineered with corrosion-resistant properties, fire-retardant additives, integrated pigments and UV inhibitors — ensuring long-term suitability for demanding outdoor and coastal use. This is the same rigorous product standard Treadwell applies across its full range of public infrastructure solutions.
- At McGennan's Beach, Treadwell's EX-Series® GratEX® FRP Mini Mesh grating panels were specified for their impregnated grit surface, which eliminates the risk of delamination and delivers a durable, long-lasting anti-slip surface for user safety — a hallmark of Treadwell's approach to public safety in high-traffic environments.
- Treadwell FRP also features integrated colour pigments, helping the structure maintain colour consistency over time without the fading issues common to painted or coated alternatives.
- Backed by a 55-year design life, Treadwell's FRP structures give councils and asset managers long-term confidence in structural integrity — reducing lifecycle costs and the burden of ongoing maintenance.
- The outcome: the upgrade significantly improved beach access for people with a range of mobility issues and was welcomed as a major improvement for events run on wheelchair-accessible sand — a direct result of Treadwell's product performance and design input.
