It's a big week for a Ventura County community, which is finally going to reopen its biggest landmark to the public after a long closure. On the Ventura coast, crews are putting the finishing touches on a project to repair a slice of history. After being slammed by storms which closed it for a year and a half, Ventura’s more than 150 year old pier is going to reopen.
"The heavy winter storm of January of 2023, with the high surf, we lost 21 timber piles that support the pier, and a lot of cross bracing, and hardware," said Ventura Deputy Public Works Director Mary Joyce Ivers. "And then, in December with the high surf we had additional damage. We had a total of 37 piles lost, plus over 600 pieces of hardware, and cross bracing."
But, she said the pier will reopen to the public Saturday morning.
"It's thrilling. We've been here before, and our historic Ventura Pier, she survives, and keeps going because she's our beloved landmark," said Ivers.
The Ventura Pier was built in 1872. It was originally more than 2000 feet long, making it the longest wooden pier in California. After being heavily damaged by storms in the 1990’s, it was shortened to 1620 feet, with the very end of it rebuilt with steel and timber to better withstand the elements.
Ventura City Manager Bill Ayub calls it an iconic part of the community.
"I was born and raised here," said Ayub. "It remains today one of the most iconic things in Ventura. It's highly photographed. It's in almost every painting. If you were to poll Venturans, they would tell you its the one piece of Ventura's infrastructure that they can't be without."
City officials said as bad as the damage was from the two storms was, it could have been much worse. A contractor specializing in piers came in to help stabilize the structure, to keep parts of it from collapsing.
Barbara McCormack is Ventura’s Fleets and Facilities Manager, and oversaw the reconstruction work. She said they had to deal with more than 50 missing, broken, or dislodged piles, as well as hundreds of pieces of hardware.
The city also removed about 800 cubic yards of debris from the beach in the wake of the storms. That was important, because that debris had the potential to be pulled back into the ocean, and slammed by the surf into the pier, causing even more damage.
The project’s cost was steep, totaling about $3.4 million. The hope is that federal and state disaster relief funds will cover the price tag.
A non-profit group dedicated to the pier is also helping. Pier into the Future donated more than $800,000 over the years to pier-related projects, with $60,000 for this repair project.
As crews work on the final elements of the repair effort, Beth Nassa is pushing her young daughter in a stroller on the Ventura Beach promenade. She can’t wait for the pier to reopen. Her daughter has only been on the pier once, weeks after she was born.
"Well, I remember when those big waves came. So, it's nice that we're finally going to be able to get back to the pier," she said.
The Ventura Pier officially reopens to the public at 8:30 a.m. Saturday.
