Westside : Work Begins on Pier Amusement Park

Construction has begun on a $12.5-million oceanfront amusement park on the Santa Monica Pier.

The first of almost 200 concrete pilings, each 20 inches in diameter and weighing 20,000 pounds, was driven into the ocean floor Friday to help support the weight of the roller-coaster, Ferris wheel and nine other rides.

The two-acre park is scheduled to be completed in May, 1996.

Construction calls for two pilings a day to be sunk into the sand and water under the pier, said Bernie Roswig, spokesman for construction manager Tishman Construction Corp. California.

The giant piles are being driven 30 feet into the sand by water blasts, and five additional feet by a pile driver.

Since it was opened in 1916, the Santa Monica Pier has been the site of many attractions and rides.

Planned for the southwest corner of the large pier, the new park is expected to attract about a million visitors annually and is to include outdoor dining, strolling musical performers and traditional amusement park games.