Official Says Hermosa Pier Is Safe, Will Remain Open

The Hermosa Beach Pier suffered structural damage in a severe January storm but can remain open until a consultant determines if repairs are needed, according to a city official.

That decision was based “a little bit on judgment, practical experience and part of it was our gut reaction--how safe do we think it is,” said Public Works Director Tony Antich, a civil engineer.

On Thursday, he said, several private engineers looked at the city-owned structure and agreed that it is safe.

The extent of the damage--which was not discovered until late April and was made public last week--has not been determined, but preliminary repair estimates are $530,000, according to Antich’s report to the City Council.

Storm Damage

During the storm, all of the concrete pier’s 132 pilings--attached to the deck by cross beams and steel rods--moved toward shore while the 1,300-foot-long deck did not, Antich said. The amount of the shift varies from 19 inches on the southwest corner piling to perhaps a fraction of an inch elsewhere, he said.

“It looks like all of them have moved to some degree,” he said, “. . . but there is a certain amount of give to them. The concrete will bend.”

State and federal officials said the city should have conducted a full inspection of the pier shortly after the crippling combination of high tides, heavy winds and rain inflicted tens of millions of dollars damage to the Southern California coastline on Jan. 17 and 18.

Hardest hit was Redondo Beach’s King Harbor--which includes that city’s pier--about 1 1/2 miles south of the Hermosa pier.

“I would think that anybody who would have incurred high tides as they did and knowing (about) the damage to piers all around them, they should have done a complete inspection right away. That would seem normal to me,” said Roy J. Gorup, chief of public assistance for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

After the storm, Antich said, he and a public works superintendent walked the length of the Hermosa pier, periodically looking over the sides, to assess the damage.

Even though a film made during the storm showed the deck lifting off the pilings as forceful waves hit, the inspectors found only minor damage to water and sewage lines beneath the deck and a 6-foot section of broken handrail, he said.

“At the time, we thought we had done a pretty thorough investigation,” Antich said.

State and federal damage assessors also inspected the pier shortly after the storm and found no other damage. Gorup said the assessors only inspect damage that local officials point out.

State and federal assessors returned to Hermosa Beach again in April, Antich said, and one of the assessors told him that the city should inspect the underside of the pier’s deck, the pilings and the cross beams.

‘Pretty Obvious’

A city crew rigged a bosun’s chair, Antich hung over the side and “it was pretty obvious that the pier had been damaged,” he said.

Ray Park, who has operated a food stand and bait shop at the end of the pier for the past six years, said the piling that officials say moved 19 inches in the January storm, actually moved in a 1983 storm, which demolished a platform used for boarding sportfishing boats.

Antich, however, said the concrete exposed in the separation has not corroded as much as would be expected had it been displaced for five years.

Antich recently marked the piling with orange paint so further movement could readily be detected.

Damage Assessment

The City Council last week allocated up to $20,000 to hire an engineering firm to assess the damage. The consultant, who is expected to be hired within two weeks, will have divers inspect the base of seven westernmost pilings, take videos of the pier, analyze the data and make recommendations, Antich said.

The pier, although altered, may be deemed safe as is and repairs may be unnecessary, he said.

“The worst-case scenario is everything below the water is busted and just being held together by barnacles and we’re going to have to tear down the end of the pier,” Antich said, adding that this scenario is unlikely.

City Manager Kevin Northcraft said other options include installing new steel rods between the cross beams and the deck or moving the pilings back into their original places.

The pier, which was built in 1965 and is valued at $4 million, is not insured. But the city is eligible to receive federal emergency relief funds for up to 75% of the cost of repairs. City officials said they are hoping the state will pay the remainder.

Jose del Carpio, public assistance officer for the state Office of Emergency Services, said the city probably will not be eligible for any state funds for repairs because the pier is considered a recreational facility.