The revetment at Ventnor will be closed all year, the Isle of Wight Council has confirmed.
The seawall partially collapsed during storms, revealing a large void, and led to the closure of the walk between Ventnor and Bonchurch.
The wall has been temporarily stabilised — but is not likely to reopen to the public until the end of the winter.
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Specially engineered rock bags have been used to fill the hole which opened up along Eastern Cliffs Esplanade last November.
With the revetment now stabilised, the Isle of Wight Council's next priority is to make urgent repairs to maintain the seawall and restore the esplanade to prevent further damage.
The extent of the damage has been revealed in new drone footage which has given engineers an invaluable opportunity to examine the defences at close quarters.
The apron is almost 60 years old and not easily accessible.
The video shows severely corroded steel sheet piles, punctured with large holes and extensive voiding, allowing the tide to undermine the revetment that usually sees hundreds of people walking, cycling and running along it every day.
The council is set to carry out further inspections and surveys to obtain vital information to help develop the next phase of works.
Speaking at a residents' meeting held in Ventnor last week, Natasha Dix, the council's strategic manager for the environment, stressed just how constrained the engineers will be by the amount of voiding under the apron of the revetment.
They will begin the works at the western end of the seawall failure (by the skatepark) and complete each section individually before moving further east.
She said: "Our investigations have shown that the damage is extensive to this structure that was built in 1966.
"The seawall was nearing the end of its life which has been recognised in the development of long-term projects with the Environment Agency to construct new and repair coastal defences across the Ventnor frontage.
"Over the next year the community will see the current works continue to fill the voids under this structure and close off the holes from the sea.
"We hope we can reopen the revetment to vehicles and pedestrians following this phase of works, but we do ask everyone to respect the construction site fencing in the mean time and not attempt to enter this dangerous area.
"People wanting to get from Ventnor to Wheeler's Bay should follow the inland diversion."
Daily monitoring continues to take place with the council working in collaboration with its construction contractors, the Environment Agency and Southern Water, as well as consulting with the Marine Conservation Society, Natural England, the Marine Management Organisation and Ventnor Town Council.
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