HUNTINGTON BEACH : Pier Now Expected to Open in May

Despite recent optimistic projections that the pier reconstruction project would finish on schedule, officials now say the new structure will not be completed before May, three months later than original estimates.

About 75% of the project is finished, project manager Gary Davis said Thursday. About 1,600 feet of the 1,830-foot deck is in place, and workers have driven 292 of the new Municipal Pier’s 312 pilings, he said.

But logistical problems are expected to hinder progress until the project is complete, Davis said.

During the project’s earlier stages, crews could concentrate their efforts on one area at a time, Davis said. But now, work typically needs to be done on several sections at once, causing a traffic jam on the service trestle from which the cranes and other vehicles operate.

“It’s like you have a one-way street with five cars between you and the end of the street, and you’re trying to get to the end,” he said.

As a consequence, he added, “it has become more difficult than anticipated to keep things going at a smooth pace.”

The city’s prized pier project also became more costly this week. To pay for additional inspections on pre-cast deck sections that had not been budgeted, the City Council authorized another $71,500 for the project.

Including snack stands and bait shops planned for the structure, the total cost of the new pier has ballooned to $12.4 million, and the city is underfunded by about $3.8 million.

In the mean time, however, a group of citizens is planning a three-day celebration to coincide with the opening of the pier.

The Pier Grand Opening Committee plans to stage a major event, running from noon on a Friday through the following Sunday, with hopes of attracting more than 100,000 visitors, said retired Huntington Beach City Administrator Paul Cook, who leads the committee.

The group is setting a tentative budget of about $75,000, which will be paid for by event advertisers. The City Council, in officially sanctioning the organizing committee this week, stipulated that no city funds will be spent on the celebration.

Despite the deepening recession, Cook said he is confident his committee can get enough financial backing to put on “the biggest party Huntington Beach has had since 1914,” when the old Municipal Pier opened.

Ironically, the delay in the pier construction schedule is expected to bode well for the grand opening ceremony. Weather will probably be much better in mid-May than it would be on the originally scheduled opening date in February, which may result in bigger crowds.

“And, hopefully, by that time, we’ll be coming out of the recession a bit, too, so it may work out all the way around,” Cook said.