St. Tammany Parish breaks ground on $3 million fortified fishing pier project
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Summary
St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper said construction has begun on a $3,000,000 project to rebuild and fortify the Lake Pontchartrain fishing pier damaged by Hurricane Ida; FEMA is providing $2,500,000 and the parish $500,000. Completion is expected early next year and the pier will be open to the public 24/7.
St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper announced construction is beginning on a $3,000,000 project to rebuild and fortify the parish’s fishing pier on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, a structure that lost its approach in Hurricane Ida on Aug. 29, 2021. "Construction is now beginning on this $3,000,000 project," Cooper said.
The project aims to replace the damaged timber approach with a fortified steel structure and extend the pier toward the nearby pavilion. Cooper said the parish secured $2,500,000 in FEMA funding and is contributing $500,000 in local funds to the effort. He described plans to install roughly 25,000 pounds of structural steel framing, add rip-rap shoreline protection and parking-lot improvements, and run a water line with fire hydrants for fire protection along the pier.
Why it matters: the pier is a public recreation asset and has been repeatedly damaged by storm surge, most recently during Hurricane Ida. Officials say the fortified design is intended to reduce future storm-related losses and keep the facility open to residents and visitors. Cooper said the rebuilt pier is expected to be completed early next year and "it will be free and open to the public 24/7."
The parish has engaged design engineers (Meyer Engineers, now Thompson Engineering) and selected Cycle Construction as the contractor; Cycle Construction was represented at the event by Nathan Kernan. Cooper also thanked parish engineering and finance staff, including Daniel Hill, director of engineering, Annie Perkins and Natalie Laparice, for their work coordinating with FEMA to secure funding.
Cooper noted that the approach they are replacing was the old I-10 Twin Span approach and that the parish had pressed FEMA for approval to use a fortified steel approach rather than a like-for-like timber replacement. He described frequent calls from the public, officials in the city of Slidell and the state legislative delegation during the roughly four years since the pier was taken out of service.
Next steps: Cooper said construction has begun and the parish will move forward with the planned steel framing, shoreline and utility work; officials expect the project to finish early next year and to reopen the pier for continuous public use.
