Pompano Pier opening today!
Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 9:34 am
At least partially...
Pompano Beach pier partially reopens today
But much of site still under construction
By Linda Trischitta
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
March 20, 2008
Anglers grab your bait: The Pompano Beach pier will be partially reopened for fishing and strolling today.
Though amenities like the bait shop and restaurant are still in the planning stages, the restroom will be open and parking is temporarily free while construction continues on the concrete supports, wooden slats and rails, and turtle-friendly lights that will be installed down the middle of the pier.
There will still be fencing in place and workers toiling under the 1,080-foot walkway at 222 N. Pompano Beach Blvd., said job foreman Frank Buck of Pneumatic Concrete. "We're making sure it's safe," he said of the restoration that will still be a working construction site.
The pier has been closed since Dec. 3, and Luce Breard of Mont St.-Hilaire, Canada, said she misses dining at the restaurant, since demolished, and then taking a stroll above the sea.
"We used to go to the restaurant all the time and then the pier to watch people catch shrimp," she said. "It's [the repair progress] very slow."
Breard and 35 friends from the Hawaiian Gardens condos in Lauderdale Lakes have enjoyed an informal Pétangue tournament every Wednesday afternoon north of the pier for 13 years. The silver metal balls tossed in the sand by the players glistened in the sun. In the distance, two men drilled metal plates over sections of the pier boardwalk.
City spokeswoman Sandra King said, "The city wants to open it as soon as possible. It's a work in progress."
King said work by the city's engineering and public works departments could continue on the estimated $375,000 project until August. City officials are still negotiating with representatives of MCK Restaurants Inc., which is affiliated with Bonefish Mac's grill of Lighthouse Point, for a new street-side dining spot. The city also has held a workshop for public comment on redesigning the area around the two municipal parking lots, including a possible new fire station, library, parking garage and green space.
Pompano Beach pier partially reopens today
But much of site still under construction
By Linda Trischitta
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
March 20, 2008
Anglers grab your bait: The Pompano Beach pier will be partially reopened for fishing and strolling today.
Though amenities like the bait shop and restaurant are still in the planning stages, the restroom will be open and parking is temporarily free while construction continues on the concrete supports, wooden slats and rails, and turtle-friendly lights that will be installed down the middle of the pier.
There will still be fencing in place and workers toiling under the 1,080-foot walkway at 222 N. Pompano Beach Blvd., said job foreman Frank Buck of Pneumatic Concrete. "We're making sure it's safe," he said of the restoration that will still be a working construction site.
The pier has been closed since Dec. 3, and Luce Breard of Mont St.-Hilaire, Canada, said she misses dining at the restaurant, since demolished, and then taking a stroll above the sea.
"We used to go to the restaurant all the time and then the pier to watch people catch shrimp," she said. "It's [the repair progress] very slow."
Breard and 35 friends from the Hawaiian Gardens condos in Lauderdale Lakes have enjoyed an informal Pétangue tournament every Wednesday afternoon north of the pier for 13 years. The silver metal balls tossed in the sand by the players glistened in the sun. In the distance, two men drilled metal plates over sections of the pier boardwalk.
City spokeswoman Sandra King said, "The city wants to open it as soon as possible. It's a work in progress."
King said work by the city's engineering and public works departments could continue on the estimated $375,000 project until August. City officials are still negotiating with representatives of MCK Restaurants Inc., which is affiliated with Bonefish Mac's grill of Lighthouse Point, for a new street-side dining spot. The city also has held a workshop for public comment on redesigning the area around the two municipal parking lots, including a possible new fire station, library, parking garage and green space.