Anybody heard anything lately on what they are doing with the Pier?
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Anybody heard anything lately on what they are doing with the Pier?
I've heard they're doing nothing.
... until the fall :-(
BOO!
ay there's the rub: Earlier statements (made to me by folks 'in the loop') to the effect assuring the balance of the pier will remain open during repairs (at least to the middle platform), are now being mulled over and may be nulled.
That revelation does not make me happy :-(
I just wish somebody would let us now if and when repairs are to start. Has a contract been bid sure hope so. Is any work being done to get started on poring of the pillars.
One problem with the long span is that the pier bents must be able to bear the load (there are 4 gone, and more may be compromised, so at least 2X or 3X design load to span 200 feet). This means that probably one could only support a narrow walkway to the octi that might not support traffic like the golf carts, a lot of people at once, or the equipment and materials needed to repair the octi. This would have to be some sort of custom design/build overhead truss.
While most of us fishermen, including me, would be happy with such a narrow walkway, the state may not be willing to do it.
A similar type of breach occurred at the Okaloosa Island pier in Fort Walton Beach about 30 years ago. But there was only one bent knocked down then and two spans bridged (about 70 feet). The GSPPier gap is nearly 3 times that distance...
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/60/e7...0d408994f8.jpg
Interesting reading @ https://floridadep.gov/sites/default...ce-Part1_0.pdf
True that. The only sensible route to construction site is out the existing pier. The only place for setup is the parking lot. In a clash between my cart and forklift, I give way.
Still, if they wait until after hurricane season to start, they won't see their work tossed overboard again before they are even done. And until they start, we fish.
Once access is restored, let's just hope the months of isolation from humans have not turned the island into a nesting box for endangered sea birds which cannot be disturbed.