HUNTINGTON BEACH : Workers Attack Last Remains of Old Pier

Nearly seven months into the reconstruction of the Municipal Pier, workers this week are expected to demolish the last remnants of the 77-year-old landmark.

Each day this week, machinery resembling a massive pair of pruning shears has been snipping off the remaining pilings.

With a grinding crunch and a cloud of white dust, the device severs each piling, which is then removed by a crane guided by a team of workers. Some large chunks of debris have tumbled to the ocean floor and may take a week to retrieve, officials said.

In the meantime, construction has begun on the new pier, scheduled to open next spring. Dozens of new pilings dot the beach, and sections of the new platform have been installed.

The city, however, has yet to raise enough money to pay for the $11.7-million project.

About $8.85 million in public grants have been earmarked, and a private fund-raising group has collected $1.25 million in pledges. That outfit, the Landmark Campaign, hopes to raise the rest of the money needed for the new pier.