The City of Clearwater announced last week that it had begun a $500,000 construction project on one of Clearwater Beach's biggest tourist destinations, Pier 60.
The project will repair concrete surfaces along the walkway of the pier, replace all of its wood railings with composite, and build a new catwalk surrounding the bait shop, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
"While there is no structural damage to the pier, several areas appear to have been hit by lightning and have pieces of concrete missing," said Gordon Wills, Operations Manager for the Marine and Aviation Department in a statement released last week. "The wood has been rotated to extend its life, but now it's time to be replaced. The new material to be installed is guaranteed to last for 50 years and requires very little maintenance."
The construction project is expected to take around six months to complete. Pier 60 will remain open throughout the duration of this construction period and its nightly festival, Sunsets at Pier 60, will continue throughout the upcoming months as scheduled, according to the statement.
Pier 60 is a popular Clearwater Beach attraction which brought in an estimated 183,000 visitors last year. Alongside it's nightly Sunsets at Pier 60 festivals, Pier 60 plays home to a bait house for those fishing off the pier as well as six covered pavilions, gift shops. Pier 60 will remain open from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. now until April 1, and 24 hours a day from April through October.
For more information on Pier 60 and other Clearwater attractions, visit myclearwater.com.
