Pacifica Pier News

IN A PERFECT WORLD, the state of California would hand over a $20 million check to the city of Pacifica to help rebuild its rusting, cracking, weather-beaten pier.

Pacifica public works officials, however, are grateful for the real-life alternative — a $500,000 grant to help shore up the 31-year-old structure before Mother Nature delivers her brutal winter blows.

“It’s a major repair, but it’s still an interim fix,” said Pacifica Public Works Director Scott Holmes. “This will give us another five years — maybe 10.”

The grant, awarded last November by the Coastal Conservancy, will cover the cost of the short-term repair project, which will last until the end of January. The pier, built in 1972, stretches 1,000 feet out into the ocean and is said to draw more than 150,000 people a year — many who use it for salmon or crab fishing.

A small team of contract workers recently began work on the decrepit structure, working from a specialized scaffolding that hangs underneath the pier. The workers will use jackhammers to get rid of the cracked concrete, which has expanded from the pressure of the rusting steel.

They will then cut away the rusty steel, weld on new steel, and epoxy new concrete back on, Holmes said. The end result will be improved safety for visitors — and more time for the city to go out and acquire more funding.

While the project falls short of solving the long-term problems of the pier, Holmes said these repairs are not superficial.

“The main failure points on the deck, the rusting rebars, that is being addressed pretty well,” he said. Of course, it’s impossible to predict how this year’s winter storms may wreak havoc on the structure.

“There could be a big event that knocks something loose,” Holmes said. “That can still happen.”

LOAD-DATE: December 2, 2003

Copyright 2003 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
The Oakland Tribune (Oakland, CA)
December 2, 2003 Tuesday
SECTION: LOCAL & REGIONAL NEWS

LENGTH: 301 words

HEADLINE: Aging Pacifica Pier to get repairs

BYLINE: By Amelia Hansen, STAFF WRITER

In a perfect world, the state would hand over a $20 million check to the city of Pacifica to help rebuild its rusting, cracking, weather-beaten pier.

Pacifica public works officials, however, are grateful for the real-life alternative — a $500,000 grant to help shore up the 31-year-old structure before Mother Nature delivers her brutal winter blows.

“It’s a major repair, but it’s still an interim fix,” said Pacifica Public Works Director Scott Holmes. “This will give us another five years, maybe 10.”

The grant, awarded last November by the Coastal Conservancy, will cover the cost of the short-term repair project, which will last until the end of January.

A small team of contract workers recently began work on the decrepit structure, working from a specialized scaffolding that hangs underneath the pier. The workers will use jackhammers to get rid of the cracked concrete, which has expanded from the pressure of the rusting steel.

They will then cut away the rusty steel, weld on new steel and attach new concrete with epoxy, Holmes said. The result will be improved safety for visitors — and more time for the city to go out and acquire more funding.

While the project falls short of solving the long-term problems of the pier, Holmes said these repairs are not superficial.

“The main failure points on the deck, the rusting rebars, that is being addressed pretty well,” he said. Of course, it’s impossible to predict how this year’s winter storms could wreak havoc on the structure.

“There could be a big event that knocks something loose,” Holmes said. “That can still happen.”

LOAD-DATE: December 3, 2003

Copyright 2003 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
Tri-Valley Herald (Pleasanton, CA)
December 3, 2003 Wednesday
SECTION: MORE LOCAL NEWS
LENGTH: 290 words
BYLINE: By Amelia Hansen, STAFF WRITER

IN A PERFECT WORLD, the state of California would hand over a $20 million check to the city of Pacifica to help rebuild its rusting, cracking, weather-beaten pier. Pacifica public works officials, however, are grateful for the real-life alternative — a $500,000 grant to help shore up the 31-year-old structure before Mother Nature delivers her brutal winter blows.

“It’s a major repair, but it’s still an interim fix,” said Pacifica Public Works

Author: Amelia Hansen, STAFF WRITER
Article ID: 1803858
Date: December 2, 2003
Publication: Oakland Tribune, The (CA)