By Ken Stone | Times of San Diego – SDMetro / April 9, 2024
Using new concrete techniques may be key to a new Ocean Beach Pier that can last 50-75 years, design experts said Saturday at a presentation on replacing the iconic structure.
Following more than a year of community engagement, the City of San Diego at a Liberty Station presentation revealed the preferred design concept that captures the features San Diegans expressed they would like to see in a new pier.
Avoiding excessive maintenance is a goal.
Scott Jordan, a designer with Civitas, told a crowd of about 200: “We’re looking at strong, durable materials to make (the new pier) last as long as possible. We’re looking a different concrete and mixes.”
Jordan explained that the rebar within the pilings on the current pier weren’t coated or protected. When exposed to salt in the water, the rebar expanded and pieces of concrete flaked off.
Just using coated rebar alone will make a new pier much more durable.
Jordan spoke to the media after a presentation by the design team of their preferred design based on past workshop participants and then asked Saturday’s audience about lighting, retail choices, shade and the appearances of the entrance and end of the pier.
The new pier is about 2,000 feet long (compared to the current 1,971 feet). It will have a slightly wider deck width of 22 feet (vs. 20 now) and a shape similar to the existing pier, with curving arms on the western end. It is a hybrid of the proposed designs.
While the 58-year-old pier covers 54,000 square feet, the proposed one would be 76,000 with an elevated level (two tiers).
Not that coated rebar is a bad thing, and a foregone conclusion, but, how long did the current pier last? Things that make you laugh.
Yeah, they keep talking about this new pier lasting 50-75 years, but wasn’t the lifespan of the current pier pegged at 50 years?
/s/ Chris Kennedy
Yup.
They talk like they’re looking out for you. Coated rebar, particularly near the coast, and concrete mix designs are nothing new. It’s a sales pitch.
It just makes you shake your head. 50-75 years when we got 58 out of the existing pier? That’s it?
Had the city made any effort whatsoever to maintain the pier, it could have lasted much longer. Rebar rusts when exposed to moisture and AIR. The rebar rust resulted from the city making no effort at sealing cracks to keep the AIR out.
As Mr. Schultz said, coated rebar and mix designs are not new, it is indeed a sales pitch. If they can’t design the pier to last at least 75-100 years, something is really wrong.
This piece, by the way, is a promotional written by Civitas.