Storms ravaged aging and already damaged SLO County pier. Now it’s finally getting fixes
Work has finally begun on a $4.5-million project to repair ravaged portions of the iconic San Simeon Pier, according to a California Department of State Parks announcement.
The storm-repair project in the William Randolph Hearst Memorial Beach park has been in the planning stages for several years, but more damage from subsequent storms meant adding to or redesigning the work plan.
The beach park and pier are among the most recognizable portions of the expansive Hearst San Simeon State Park, which stretches along much of the northern San Luis Obispo County shoreline.
“These essential repairs will help preserve the pier’s structural integrity, so it remains a cherished part of the San Simeon coastline for years to come,” State Parks said in a news release.
Cushman Contracting Corporation of Goleta will do the work, which officials expect will take approximately eight months to complete, depending on weather and tidal conditions.
Construction equipment will be stored on a fenced-off portion of the park’s upper parking lot, State Parks district superintendent Dan Falat said Tuesday, but the lower parking area will remain open and there will be beach access. A revised loop drive will allow drivers to circle around to get into and out of the park.
Work started Monday as crews “began removing curb rails and bumpers, the runners along the outer boards, so they could get the crane out to where it needs to be,” he said.
“They had to clear enough width on the pier’s deck so the equipment can get out there,” Falat said.
How long has pier been closed?
It’s been a long wait for visitors and residents, fisherfolk and sportspeople, including bold surfers who dart around the pier’s pilings or jump into the waves from the pier’s deck.
The pier has been totally blocked off since last October, and was partially closed before that, due to damage done by fierce winter waves and storms, especially during the last two winter seasons.
A narrow strip on the north side of the iconic pier in San Simeon has been off limits since October 2021. That part of the pier’s deck was sagging even then, due to previous storm damage and age.
Since then, State Parks has been doing a formal study of the problems that have made the 67-year-old structure potentially unsafe.
The project was designed and sent to Sacramento for review and approval.
Then, the most recent December and January storms did more damage to the pier’s support system, which meant more project changes and delays.
What do repairs to closed pier include?
For long-term durability, fiberglass-reinforced polymer pipe piles will replace all missing and deteriorated piles, which are an essential supportive part of the pier’s foundation.
Any damaged or deteriorated bracing and stringers, which help stabilize the pier, will also be replaced or repaired.
The curb rail, railing and decking will be replaced, and a new water line will be installed.
The plan doesn’t include new fish-cleaning sinks, however.
Marine wildlife will be monitored throughout the project, Falat said, making sure there are no disturbances to protected species in local marine sanctuary waters.
The pier commissioned by George Hearst in 1878 was replaced by San Luis Obispo County in 1957. The county extended the newer pier by 300 feet in 1969, according to a Cambria Historical Society report.
Since 1971, State Parks has controlled the pier, and subsequently, the surrounding park area.
