SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KRON) — The Santa Cruz Wharf will reopen to the general public on Saturday January 4, metropolis officers mentioned,13 days after a bit of the century-old pier collapsed into the ocean.
About 150 toes collapsed inside seconds on Dec. 23, 2024 when big waves battered pilings past their breaking level. A building challenge to restore the tip of the wharf was not accomplished quick sufficient to put it aside from a robust winter swell. Three building employees and heavy tools tumbled into the waves beneath.
Nearly all of the wharf has been deemed “safe to reopen” based mostly on a recently-completed sonar and engineering evaluation, metropolis officers introduced Thursday. A portion of the pier that was broken by the collapse will stay closed to the general public.
A bit of the Santa Cruz Wharf that collapsed into the Pacific Ocean is seen at a close-by seaside on Dec. 24, 2024. (Picture by Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle through Getty Photographs)
An engineering evaluation carried out by an infrastructure agency “did not observe any damage to the wharf’s structural capacity beyond the area affected by storm damage, and noted that it has the same strength it did before the storm,” mentioned Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Director Tony Elliot.
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A slender part on the finish of the wharf is closely broken and can stay closed off. Autos won’t be permitted to transcend Marini’s Candies retailer. Automobiles can flip round on the East Parking Lot space.
The Santa Cruz Wharf is seen after the part of the pier fell into the ocean throughout excessive surf yesterday, in Santa Cruz, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (Picture by Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle through Getty Photographs)
A building crane continues to be on the seafloor. “Wharf contractor Power Engineering Construction worked with Pioneer for an ocean sonar scan to locate their heavy equipment that fell into the ocean,” mentioned Metropolis Supervisor Matt Huffaker.
“A skiff washed up on the beach and is secured, and the crane and a skid steer are currently in the ocean at a safe distance from the wharf,” Huffaker mentioned.
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Francis Schiano of the USA Coast Guard Sector San Francisco mentioned, “The crane was located approximately 160 feet southeast of the collapsed face of the wharf, which is a safe distance away. The crane is stuck at this time and not moving around.”
Huge items of the damaged wharf and pilings are nonetheless scattered throughout Santa Cruz County seashores.
