ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH, Fla. – The saga with the St. Johns County pier continues after officials decided Friday to close part of it indefinitely.
The county closed the final 100 feet of the St. Johns County Ocean and Fishing Pier while it evaluated the pillars closest to the ocean.
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The pier sits in northern St. Augustine Beach and is a popular gathering point for beachgoers.
County officials said the pier’s support pillars appeared to show “evidence of decay.”
The pillars would normally be underwater but became exposed during the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ beach renourishment efforts.
That’s when maintenance teams noticed that extra wear and tear.
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Following the closure, the county fenced off the end of the pier and the area below it to keep people out.
Liz Whittle was visiting from Texas for Labor Day and headed up the pier for a better view. That’s when she was stopped about 100 feet short.
“Well, it’s disappointing but part of me was like ‘What on earth happened?’” Whittle said.
It’s another piece of the story that surrounds the pier.
In July, St. Augustine Beach Mayor Dylan Rumrell told News4JAX his office got several calls when residents were surprised after the water no longer touched the pier due to the beach renourishment efforts.
“Man, it’s always something, always something,” Rumrell said.
But he said that change made this new issue easier to catch and therefore, address.
“Before you’d have to send dive teams in to put people in there to look,” he said. “But now you’re able to get a view without getting wet.”
For some visitors on the Labor Day holiday, the closure and lack of water around the pier was a bit of a bummer.
“I was kind of sad,” Luisa Torres said.
The 11-year-old was visiting was visiting from Orlando with her family. She said she had hoped to fish with her dad, but she would have to go somewhere else.
But Torres said she understands the reasoning and is glad the county is keeping people safe.
And the mayor agreed.
“Just be cognizant,” Rumrell said. “They have it roped off underneath. You don’t want things to fall down. And then, eventually, the pier will be back open and water will be underneath it before we know it.”
And while Whittle won’t be able to reach the end of the pier, she still celebrated.
“Good for them,” she said as she clapped. “Sometimes we catch things like that here in the U.S. after a disaster, so bravo to the local folks for catching it, being right on top of it and they’re getting attended to so that’s good.”
The mayor said he hopes the pier is ready and open by the end of the year so that the New Year’s Eve fireworks can go off as planned.
The end of the pier will remain closed indefinitely as engineers continue to assess the situation and get the supplies they need to fix the problem.