Pier Reopens to Greet New Year and Old Friends

The Ventura Pier was reopened to the public Wednesday, three days after rough waves forced its closure for the second time in less than a month.

The pier was closed for nearly a week in mid-December after high surf ripped 420 feet of wood decking from its seaward end--one of the worst batterings in the pier’s 123-year history.

The landmark was closed again Sunday when a city worker noticed an unusual creaking sound, triggering concerns that eight-foot swells could again compromise the pier’s stability.

“It was a precaution,” Parks Manager Bill Byerts said Wednesday. “We will continue to do that type of monitoring throughout the storm season.”

City engineers surveyed the pier’s pilings Wednesday and found about half a dozen supports had been knocked loose over the weekend, Byerts said.

Because those supports are located at different points under the pier, the structure’s stability has been ruled sound, city officials said.

“They are kind of scattered about,” Byerts said of the pier’s loosened supports.

City engineers have not decided what to do with those pilings, and are continuing to assess the damage.

Some fishermen expressed frustration at the recent closure of the pier, and others stressed the need to shore up the wave-beaten structure with materials that can better withstand the Pacific’s pounding surf.

“I wanted to come out here,” said Chad Hare, a Santa Clarita fisherman who now phones his cousin in Ventura to make sure the pier is open before driving out with his reel and tackle box.

“I do miss it all the way out there,” he said of the pier’s original 1,958 feet. “I think a lot of people want it that way.”

City officials have promised to repair the broken pier with about $1.5 million in insurance coverage. But how they will decide to restore the structure remains a question.

Fillmore resident and longtime pier fan Dave Twomey said he would like to see the structure built to last, possibly with tougher materials such as steel or concrete instead of the traditional wood.

“It has to be built using modern technology,” said Twomey, who totes a cup of coffee and a stack of newspapers to the pier twice a week. “Either shorten it or lengthen it--just so we have a pier.”