James River Fishing Pier demolition begins | With Video

The city of Newport News has began the demolition of the Old James River Bridge/Fishing Pier. Workers are drilling lift holes for the cables in the roadway and removing the rails. This work has to be finished before the roadway can be craned lifted from

NEWPORT NEWS

The demolition of the 86-year-old James River Fishing Pier began last week.

The first 900 feet are scheduled to be demolished by the end of January, and the rest will be demolished by the end of August, city engineer Carolyn Herman said.

The new pier will be built in several stages the first 900-foot section is scheduled to be completed and open to the public by May 1 with the next 350 feet to be completed by Aug. 1 to create a 1,250-foot pier.

The city will collect bids in the spring so the pier can be extended closer to its original 3,000 feet one of the longest municipal piers in the country and a piece of the former bridge to Isle of Wight County.

The design for the extension is underway, and construction will begin in late summer 2015, Herman said.

The city originally planned to shorten the pier to 1,250 feet, but when bids came in lower than expected $2.3 million instead of the $4.4 million that was budgeted city leaders decided to extend the pier to closer to its original length 2,250 to 3,000 feet.

Workers from Crofton Construction Services of Portsmouth are drilling lift holes in the concrete deck and removing the railing. After the rail is removed, workers will begin removing the pier deck sections late next week, said Naymond Sunkins, senior construction inspector.

The new pier will be made entirely of concrete, including the beams and decking. The old bridge had metal beams, which deteriorated in the brackish water.

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James River Fishing Pier demolition begins | With Video