Daytime access to the general viewing stands and the beach may be restricted during construction to replace the ageing boardwalk at the Penguin Parade. Works are expected to be completed by December.
The second stage of construction works to make Phillip Island's Penguin Parade more accessible starts this week.
From April 7, construction teams will remove the ageing boardwalk behind the general viewing stands and replace it with a new all access pathway to bring visitors even closer to the little penguins on Summerland Beach.
Phillip Island Nature Parks has advised daytime access to the general viewing stands and the beach may be restricted during construction with large machinery using the boardwalks and St Helens Road between 7am and 4pm.
The works are expected to be completed by December.
Kym Evans, Projects and Planning Manager at Phillip Island Nature Parks, said priority would be given to environmental sensitivities and the wellbeing of wildlife during the building works.
"These works will be carefully managed every step of the way," Ms Evans said.
"Qualified wildlife officers will oversee the project to safeguard local wildlife during all phases of construction, and we encourage visitors to follow all instructions from staff and observe the signage to ensure a smooth process.
"We will also work to minimise the impact on the nightly Penguin Parade operations."
Phillip Island is home to the largest little penguin colony in the world, and each year hundreds of thousands of people visit to experience watching the little penguins waddling up the shore and on to their burrows.
Audits undertaken by the Nature Parks identified critical works were needed to Penguin Parade infrastructure due to its age and coastal erosion impacting the viewing stands.
Stage One of the works, funded by a $5 million grant from the Victorian Government's Regional Tourism Investment Fund, was completed in December 2024, providing a new accessible looped boardwalk, upgraded Penguin Plus viewing platform and a new guided tour platform.
Stage Three will see upgrades to the remaining sections of the boardwalk to complete the all-accessible looped boardwalk, with hopes that construction will start in 2026.
Dependent on funding, Stage Four will replace the existing general viewing stands and skybox and will involve further designs to combat coastal erosion.
For project updates, please visit penguins.org.au/about/our-community/projects-and-maintenance/
