The Ocean Beach Pier is currently undergoing emergency repairs to fix damage caused by storm conditions in January 2021,” said City spokesperson Tyler Becker. “These repairs include the implementation of pile jackets to allow for proper load transfer on two damaged piles on the pier’s west end. Right now, the City’s contractor is assembling scaffolding in preparation for repairs.”
Becker added scaffolding assembly is estimated to take another week. “Following that is an estimated eight weeks of repair work, depending on the weather and tidal conditions,” he added. “The pier is expected to fully reopen upon completion of these repairs. The contract for the emergency construction is for an amount not to exceed $450,000.”
The City added that a large portion of the pier will remain open to the public during construction, including the cafe and bait shop. Once repairs are complete, the pier will completely re-open for the first time in more than a year.
A City-commissioned report last year by Moffatt & Nichol found the 55-year-old landmark OB Pier has “reached the end of its service life” due to repeated structural damage from seasonal winter storms.
“To ensure the continued use of the structure, deficiencies must be addressed,” concluded the Moffatt & Nichol report, which offered three options – repair, rehabilitation, and replacement – for remediation of the pier’s eroding structure. All three alternatives would be costly with repair estimates ranging from $8 million to $60 million.
At an Ocean Beach Town Council town hall last May on the future of the pier, residents weighed in on what they thought should be done with the pier. Most favored repairing or replacing it. Some others, however, expressed sticker shock and disapproval for either restoring or rebuilding it.
More than 50% of some 400 respondents in a May 15-25 OBTC poll conducted online indicated people wanted OB Pier either repaired or rebuilt altogether. A total of 45.4% of respondents wanted the pier rehabilitated.
OBMA REPORT
Ocean Beach MainStreet Association said the OB Pier Advisory Committee is considering what to do next with the community’s aging pier, adding this year’s annual marketing breakfast will be done via Zoom due to COVID.
“We’re almost finished with the presentation,” said Denny Knox, executive director of OBMA, which sponsors the annual marketing breakfast. “It will be virtual-only and it will be a synopsis of what OBMA offers to our members and how to best leverage what the association offers to improve outcomes for your business. There is not a date yet.”
“The OB Pier working group hasn’t yet met this year,” said Knox, who is a group member. “We are aware that the mayor okayed the expenditure to do repairs on the pier. It will hopefully buy us some time to get the pier redone.”
Knox said the pier group should meet “fairly soon” while adding: “The committee is just doing research and meeting to talk about what we all have found out. We’re not decision-makers, just investigating the possibilities as best we can and putting pressure on our elected officials to do something.”
