By Geoff Page
A January 2 article in the Union-Tribune titled “Waves further damage O.B. Pier” has answered the pressing question of what the city plans to do now that a pier piling has failed. The response is nothing short of idiotic.
People often misinterpret the word “idiotic” as being judgmental, much the same as how they hear the word “ignorant.” Both are red flags but both are appropriate words. Idiotic is a short way of saying its meaning, “showing complete lack of thought or common sense.”
The city’s comment in Jeff Macdonald’s article came from Public Information Officer, Tyler Becker who is the assigned “media contact” for the Engineering and Capital Improvements Department from the Communications Department. This is a perfect illustration of what The Rag had to say in the recent story about the city’s Shield. Becker is not an engineer.
“We are aware of visible damage to the Ocean Beach Pier,” city spokesperson Tyler Becker said. “At least one pile was significantly damaged, as was the pier’s railing. In terms of any structural damage, we won’t know that until a full assessment is completed.”
This statement was bad enough but the article went on to state, “Becker said the current assessment of the structure’s condition will not be completed until this spring.”
Becker’s statement that one pile was “significantly damaged” blatantly demonstrated the problem with having a media contact talking as opposed to, oh anyone else. When something is described as significantly damaged, that implies that something still exists, albeit damaged.
A pile that is completely gone can never suffer additional damage. The pile was not significantly damaged, the pile was obliterated. The pier piles are structural elements, they hold up the pier. Anyone with any common sense could see that. If the city does not know now that there is structural damage, with all the engineers on the city’s payroll, then San Diegans are not getting their money’s worth.
Even more disturbing is that the city made no mention of doing anything right now when action is urgently needed. A brief description of the pier’s construction will illustrate the gravity of the current situation. The city needs to act now to mitigate the problem. If they wait until the spring, things could be much worse.
Pier Structure
As everyone can see, the concrete piles in the water support the pier. A big block of concrete called a “pile cap” sits on top of two side-by-side piles. The pier deck sits on top of the pile caps. How the pier deck was constructed is a concern now.
The deck is a combination of large prefabricated concrete deck panels 30 and 50 feet long and six to seven feet wide, topped with concrete. The prefabricated panels each span from one pile cap to the next. These panel ends sit on the pile caps, but by only four inches. There is a 16-inch gap between adjacent panels. When the deck panels were topped with concrete, that gap was filled.
This picture shows the tops of the prefabricated panels before the deck was poured. There is a visible joint in the picture. There is a pile cap below that joint.
This is the construction plan detail:
The picture shows how little the panel ends bear upon the pile caps under them. The view is looking north/south or south/north. It shows the west end of one panel from the east meeting the east end of the next westerly panel. This picture also shows how the capping concrete sits on the panels.
It is not hard to imagine what happens if one half of the pile cap and one piling are removed. The remaining half a pile cap and one piling have to support both panels. Unfortunately, now half of the deck, from the center of the pier to the southern edge, is hanging out in the air. The remaining pile has to support all that weight alone and resist the new downward stress of the unsupported deck. The remaining one pile is bending to the south under this stress and it will fail under that stress.
When it fails, the only thing supporting the deck panels above it will be the concrete topping. The topping was not designed as a structural element. It will not hold the deck up.
The city cannot wait another day, it needs to get out there immediately, before the other piling fails, and place beams to support the deck before it falls. This can be done from above. If the deck falls, it will affect much more of the pier, cause more damage, and more debris will fall in the water.
One has to wonder if this is actually the city’s plan.
The city closed the pier some time ago and said it would not be re-opened until the spring. Despite being asked multiple times, by multiple people, if there was something seriously wrong with the pier, no one from the city would answer that question. The only evident damage was few pieces of railing, easily fixed.
At first, the suspicion was that the city had done no evaluation at all and was just closing it because the city did not want to spend make railing repairs. After this pile failure, the question is, did the city know something it was deliberately not revealing to the public?
The failure exposed another in a long list of engineering errors on the pier. The pile caps connecting the two side-by-side piles and supporting the deck had a built-in flaw. Although the pile caps each look like a solid piece of concrete, they are actually three pieces as seen in this picture.
The pier piles were prefabricated with a little less than half of the pile cap already on the top end. The piles were place in holes drilled in the seabed. When secured, the two pieces then needed to be tied together and poured with concrete to form a complete pile cap. The following is the plan detail:
This plan detail show what the pile cap would look like when complete.
The city was advised of a problem with this construction 20 years ago and did nothing.
Here is what was in the 2004 Moffatt &Nichol report, specifically about the pile cap design:
Much of the damage appears to be associated with the cast-in-place portion of the cap. It was reported that during the curing of the cast-in-place joint it was very difficult to hold the two precast portions of the cap rigid. Relative movement of the two precast portions during the curing of the joint may well have caused cracking that contributed to the permeability of the joint. This would have allowed more rapid penetration of chloride ions, water, and oxygen to the reinforcement, accelerating the corrosion process.
This is where the pile cap broke and the one piling failed this week. Here is a picture of the break:
It appears that the break was at the center connection. Had the pile cap been poured monolithically, or all at one time, it would not have had this weak point. It appears that this method was used as a way to speed up construction. There is nothing uncommon about using methods that improve the schedule, but in this case, it may have caused a fatal defect.
The lost pile was part of Bent 45. A search through all of the documentation on the pier that includes all the extensive engineering reports, did not reveal any mention of this particular location having a problem. That is very disturbing for one of two reasons.
It would be very disturbing to learn that the city knew about this weakness and did not reveal it. Having a structure failure, requiring closing the pier indefinitely, does not displease the city at all. Certainly now, a collapsed deck section would further support the city’s desire to just lock the gates.
But, if the city did not know of a serious problem, this failure is disturbing for another reason. As previously related, none of the documentation this writer has reviewed mentions any problem with the area that failed. That could mean that a large number of pile caps are unknown failures just waiting to happen.
This kind of a problem could be mitigated in much the same way bridges are retrofitted to resist earthquakes. Connections between pile cap sections could be placed to prevent them from parting. This would be costly of course.
The problem with the pier is money. To repair the damage that is evident now would be very expensive. Additionally, before it could be reopened, each pile cap would need to be examined closely for signs of failure. This would entail use of x-ray or ground penetrating radar technologies at a minimum.
The pier deck can be temporarily reinforced so it does not fall in the water. This is the absolute minimum the city needs to spend money on. Beyond that, it is up for public debate if replacing a pile and repairing the pile cap and all the broken railing is worth the money to reopen the pier. What is needed, after securing the deck, is a new engineering survey.
The pier deck can be temporarily reinforced so it does not fall in the water.
By what means?
Chris,
A good question to ask. One option may be to set 60+ foot beams over the deck to span to the adjacent supports. The precarious deck at location 45 could then be tied up to the steel beams (the beams acting like strongbacks). Bringing out the beams from Niagara to the location could be done with dollies. This may be a bit risky plan to initially set the steel beams in place, however, better than a progressive collapse as may be likely when more storms with large swells occur in the immediate future.
Btw, I just spoke with the city engineer as I was writing this. They are diligently working on a mitigation plan as we speak.
Some of the drawings/pics on this here not totally clear, if this is a 30′ or 50′ section, or the length of rebar that spans through the cap from deck panel to deck panel. Being where it broke off, I’d say was the best case scenario that the cap and pile aren’t hanging adding stress. Due to that and depending on the rebar overlay, my guess would be the deck would stay on its own, part of that though not knowing the conditions of the piles around the break. Then there’s adding a beam creating cantilever in the area. All said, it’s my opinion and do not claim to be an engineer. And of course, weather being the variable.
4” depth of reinforced concrete topping does not have the capacity to span 60 feet. More dwgs can be found on the OB Mainstreet’s website.
Probably have to add stiffeners in the web to resist deflection. But the 4″thickness is at the midspan, correct? Do you know if the deck panels were stressed before placement?
Yes, the panels are prestressed. One of the many disturbing things about this design was the placement of the strands. They are at the underside of the panels, designed to create some camber for when the topping was placed. Unfortunately, there is only two inches of concrete protecting the strands from the ocean. The result is a lot of rusted and broken strands today.
The last picture in the piece cut off a bit of the detail. It shows 4″ minimum at the edge with a slight crown at the center for drainage.
In the sceond photo from the construction it appears that each deck panel is actually three panels across. With half of the total width of one pile cap gone, this means the center panels on each side of the failed pile cap are now only supported in 3 of 4 corners, and the south side panels are only supported at one end, i.e., they are now just cantelevers, held up entirely by the topping along one end and along one edge. Is my observation corret?
Yes, you are correct.
I remember how we were against the pier being built in the first place.
Maybe it’s time to take it down and let nature take the tide pools back.
It is time to let the pier go. There is no longer money to support this pier and not many people ues the pier as in years past, (no revenue). Sad but true. More people come to see the sunset at the cliffs than visit the pier.
I said this in the article:
“The city cannot wait another day, it needs to get out there immediately, before the other piling fails, and place beams to support the deck before it falls. This can be done from above.”
RJTeyssier explains more in his comment.
Joe, I don’t know what you have to back up what you have said about how many people visit the pier. How often have you visited it? I used to run to the end of the pier several times a day for many years. I would have to disagree with you based on my personal experience.
Can the City of San Diego afford another pier? Is there enough money for that as well as all of the other urgencies which demand priority? Do we have enough money for a “feel-good” pier with everything else commanding attention?
That is a legitimate question to ask. However, this piece is focused purely on the problem we have right now, regardless of whether or not a new pier is built. This condition needs to be mitigated to save the city even more money.
Absolutely! Just can anything related to the affordable housing mantra and the money pit at Ash St.
Let it go already.
I love the OB Pier and as a visitor would be happy to pay to walk on it every day when I visit. Maybe start charging $1 pp would help support the pier.
At this point I’m thinking that I am in agreement with the thought of demolishing the pier completely…as long as there is the money already set aside (contracts signed, etc) for hauling the debris out of there and off the sea floor. It’ll cost millions to just do that I’m assuming….
It’s past its expected working life, and it’s dangerously falling apart. I watched it get built standing up on the cliff around the corner at Granny K’s apartment building, and yes I was one of those little surfer kids who didn’t like it because it was just another ugly piece of concrete sticking out into the ocean.
By 1980 I was a Southside local surfer running a ding repair on Sunset Cliffs who loved the big days when when the Left Point would start breaking way out and around the corner level with the cafe, a spooky break at times, and nobody would be out. And one would have to drop to the bottom of the wave to get through the pilings at the end of it as it lined up across the inside in front of the parking lot. I have some pretty good pictures in the decaying photo albums in the closet of those memories.
Those of us who regularly surfed it on every swell that would break knew then how bad it was already rotting/corroding, and that was less than 20 years after it opened. And now it has been 40 years ago since I was a local surf dude and parts are breaking off. Big parts. Important parts! I’m wondering if it’ll even last this winter before that entire section ends up on the reef? If these ‘El Nino swells keep coming it seems more like a crap shoot.
Whether it is replaced or not is a whole other story, but it shouldn’t be allowed to just drop onto the reef and tidepools and smash them up worse than the damage done in the early 60s. That’s what will happen if not dealt with now. Will anybody in power do anything about that?
End of an era feeling about this….and zero expectations from a city government completely consumed by POS neoliberal greedheads.
Big sigh.
I haven’t paddled out to Southside since 2001 when I came down to bury my Auntie, and the damage was so much worse than I remembered it. It aged faster than I did I think!
And yes Geoff, the surf sucked the entire two weeks I was there.
sealintheSelkirks
Ain’t that always how it goes? I did a long trip through Mexico years ago and made a point to go to San Blas because I had heard so much about it. It wasn’t even worth getting wet for.
As the saying goes, “You should have been here yesterday” – Endless Summer 1966.
HA! Chris, I WAS there yesterday and I said that to a LOT of people over the years! And transferred it to surfing snow on mountains and it still pissed people off. Heh heh
Unfortunately the swell wasn’t there for me in 2001…though I did get waves up in North County during those two weeks I was in SD. Surfed the finger reefs south of Swami’s at waist-chest high which was the best I managed to find…but OB stayed nearly as flat as a pancake for those two weeks. Just a bunch of guys on tankers riding ripples that didn’t even come up to their knees.
But I’d be out today even being a stormy mixed-up swell at the Pier looking at the OB Hotel cam. There are even a few ride-worthy waves coming in on Southside that are lining through the pilings. A wait and pick&choose day no doubt.
As compared to (finally) seeing some snowflakes falling from the sky out my window. I’m under a Winter Storm Warning today, and the barely 1″ of overnight that landed on the bare dirt, roofs, and scattered thin icy crust that is spread around on this property finally had another little covering so everything is white again. Trees are mostly green as it turned to rain about noon. As opposed to the normal 3-4 feet of snowpack that should be here by January with my 13hp snowthrower running a road to the gate…which hasn’t run even once this year yet.
On NY’s Day I was in a long-sleeve t & flip=flops reading on the steps in the sun with the cat in my lap and the dog sleeping on the porch behind me. How’s that for winter in the far north mountains? Enjoy your sunny day!
sealintheSelkirks
I’m guessing there will not be money to repair or replace a public pier, residents and tourists appreciate. The pier is a fun place to go on a hot summer night and fish. And for parents to teach their kids to fish. But there will be money to construct more minimally used bike lanes on the busiest streets for the few, or round abouts that cause emergency equipment to slow way down just to maneuver around it, but doesn’t slow down cars or cyclists, and medians on busiest streets causing drivers to drive farther to get to a business on the other side of the street, or turn onto a side street. The mayor needs a handler.
While it is sad we may no longer have an OB pier due to money, I’m getting real sick and tired of people complaining about bike lanes and how little they are used. If fact I find it infuriating.
Guess what Pat, sometimes the needs of the few outweigh the conveniences of the many.
“Needs”?
Yes.
SO, just to be clear, you think that what fewer people (you) want is a “need” and what more people use to get a farther distance faster (far more people than you) is a “convenience”. Please explain that one.
It’s a need because I and others not only bike for fun, but also bike for transportation. Some bike for transportation because they don’t drive or have a vehicle. As small of a # that may be, people in that those circumstances deserve safe bike infrastructure to get where they need to go. I own a and drive a vehicle BTW, but I do consider myself and others like me “entitled” to safe bike infrastructure and networks despite still having the option to drive and also despite the fact we are in the minority.
And there is the “problem”, YOU feel entitled.
Justifiably so.
Too many of our streets are death traps. We need more bike lanes and better yet we need more protected bike lanes, no less. Any inconveniences they’re causing to drivers, boo hoo.
I agree. BUT, it’s the placement of these that seems to be the issue. Why would we put them on major thoroughfares?
Some areas are better than others, but often there are no real alternatives but on major thoroughfares. Harbor Dr is a perfect example. Painted lanes that launch you right into car traffic in a few spots. Another is Park Blvd. There are parallel streets but they break off so no real alternative from Adams all the way to downtown. Voltaire is another I use a lot. No real alternative if you want to ride from Chatsworth all the way down to OB.
Another big problem is how bike lanes are connected. Too often they are there and all of a sudden disappear and there is a long distance with no bike lane before re-connecting. I think that plays a big part in their underutilization.
Gotta call you on this one, “Voltaire is another I use a lot. No real alternative if you want to ride from Chatsworth all the way down to OB.” The only place you have to use Voltaire is from Las Lomas to Mendocino. There is no good reason to ride on Voltaire from Mendocino to the beach.
Any inconveniences to drivers, boo hoo? You in the minority except in mayor Tood’s delusion.
I know I’m in the minority. And?
And no I’m not a fan of the Toddster and didn’t vote for him.
There is almost zero reasons to put them on major automobile thoroughfares. It is counterproductive to what the ultimate intent is. Climate goals. If you put a bike lane on a major roadway and it in anyway restricts traffic by reducing lanes or slowing traffic, that increases pollution. Moving said bike lanes to “side streets” may actually increase the distance a cyclist may have to ride thereby increasing the most likely reason they are riding, exercise.
There are plenty of side streets in SD. So don’t tell me that Voltaire is the only option to get from Chatsworth to the beach, it just happens to be the most direct.
I used to fairly frequently ride my bike from PL to Allied Gardens back in the 80’s & early 90’s, before there were bike lanes everywhere. Guess what, I took side streets whenever possible instead of trying to ride down Friars Road or any of the other major roads. Sure, occasionally you have to traverse one for short distances. But I took responsibility for my own safety and stayed away from speeding, heavy cars when I could. One could ride from all 4 corners of PL/OB and not ride down Sunset Cliffs or Voltaire. It just sounds like many of the cyclists think they entitled.
Although this article is not about bike lanes, I have to say that I agree with you completely, Sorry, and have been saying the same thing over and over. I get two responses. “We have a right to ride wherever we want to” and the other is crickets. Those are reactions to common sense.
I know you have, Geoff and I agree 110%. The lack of common sense is astonishing.
Or move bike lanes underground, like subways/tubes. SD would be a trendsetter, and not always 25 years behind the times. The entries to the tubes would be at local bars, meaning there’d be many, many ways to access the underground bike lanes. The bikeway walls could be adorned with public art and even ads for logo’d spandex garments, pickleball and anger management classes. Win+Win+Win=3X Win, eh?
Public art would be cool. Anger management classes might be a good thing for drivers tho. I’ve seen some pretty pissed off drivers come close to killing people. One who was angry at me (the stretch of Laurel btwn 6th and 4th) for holding him up for a few seconds lost control and nearly rear ended someone just as I made a left to get onto the 4th street bike lane. What did I do to trigger him? After he yelled at me for just for holding him up for said few seconds I turned around and gave him the Little Rascal’s hi sign.
Blowing people a kiss is always de-escalational?
Hi signs are still more fun due the reaction, especially if the driver has no idea what that even is.
My kids have transitioned from middle-fingers to a “thumbs down” to poor drivers. I think it is slightly more demoralizing than a single finger.
I actually agree, but Little Rascal hi signs (if the driver starts yelling) give some amusing and confused reactions. Sometimes those extract more rage out of the driver than a middle finger.
One of the underground tubes could be through Midway rising? Just ride with scuba gear?
Custom cycling scuba gear with the Midway Rising Logo (OddTodd’s smiling Botox face eating a bologna sandwich)… a whole new enterprise.. and jobs!
I guess it’s safe to say we are simply on opposite ends of this debate.
This thread does NOT need to be hijacked for more bike stuff. BACK TO THE PIER news, okay?
sealintheSelkirks
I actually agree, but since it was brought I decided to say something in response. This won’t be the last time I do, even if it’s on an otherwise unrelated topic. It’s what I do lol.
Some bike to and from the pier. Valid!
I do.
“There is almost zero reasons to put them on major automobile thoroughfares.”
Well, that’s like your opinion Man – The Dude
Anyway I’m about to bike to OB from Hillcrest. May stop at Kilowatt or California Wild Ales.
Surfer Magazine says:
“Ocean Beach Pier in San Diego was irreparably damaged by the massive waves. The iconic San Diego pier was already closed to the public due to previous damage, but the El Niño-charged super swell at the end of 2023 was the last straw.
Many folks are saying that swell irreparably damaged the structure, and it must be fully replaced. ” https://www.surfer.com/trending-news/video-gigantic-waves-destroy-iconic-california-pier
Did Surfer Mag come back into existence?
???
They officially shut down in 2020:https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/story/2020-10-09/surfer-magazine-founded-in-orange-county-in-1960-shuts-down
Go to their website and see what’s up and let us know.
I see that their website is up and running. so I don’t know if they resurfaced as online only (which I guess makes sense)? I just remember when they shut down three years ago that sent shock waves (pun sort of intended) throughout the surf world.
Since I wasn’t the one who brought up bike lanes in the first place I’ll give my most likely unwanted opinion. I’ve been in SD since’86. The OB pier has been a huge part my life. I’ve walked on it, fished on it, ate at the cafe, surfed below it (back when I surfed), watched fireworks shows, watched the Geriatric Surf Club’s marching/drill team do there thing on it (4th of July), participated in pancake breakfasts, paddled around it participating in Surfrider’s annual pier paddle (organized it one year, ’99 I think), I could go on. It’s reached the state that it’s in and it looks like it’s time to demolish it. The amount of money it would cost to replace the pier would be astronomical (as pointed out in previous Rag articles). Therefore instead replacing it I believe we should use that money improve transit, bike infrastructure, and other non-car alternatives. What’s really going to help with climate change is less people driving or put another way, more people opting to drive less often and having the resources to do so.
It may be time for the OB Pier to be a memory, albeit a good memory.
Stop putting bandaids on the pier and start tearing it down. It’s 60 yo and a new improved one should start when it’s safe.
From the drawings and photos it looks like the deck panels are actually split into three sections across, each one 6′-8″ in width. So with one pile cap now missing, the two opposing center deck panels that meet above the missing pile cap are now only partially supported at that end. And the two outer panels that meet above the now-missing pile cap are completely unsupprted at that end, other than by the topping material. Do I have that right? If so, yikes?