The old closed portion of pier at Ship Point will undergo a $3.21-million upgrade so it can be reopened next spring.
The cost of the project, which is seen as a start of a phased repair of the pier, will be shared between the City of Victoria and the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, with the GVHA contributing $2 million and the city the balance. The plan is to replace the timber structure under the closed portion of the pier with steel piles.
City staff said the new materials can be used in any future works and the steel piles can also be raised to accommodate rises in sea level. It’s estimated complete replacement of the pier will be needed in five years. The estimated cost of replacing the old pier with a new steel and concrete pier is $9.3 million, staff said.
Victoria councillors this week agreed to reallocate $1.21 million in funding from the Belleville Street complete streets project to undertake the repair.
The GVHA’s $2-million contribution is a significant investment, said Coun. Margaret Lucas, the city’s representative on the harbour authority.
“They recognize that we need to partner in these large projects and the vibrancy and what this is going to bring to the city of Victoria right in our downtown area is significantly important,” Lucas said. “We cannot leave it in the condition that it’s in. I don’t see that as an option here.”
A major portion of the 1949 pier was closed last September due to safety concerns. An inspection found many of the old wood piers and the decking were severely deteriorating.
Coun. Geoff Young agreed a pier is needed, but said he’s not convinced the current configuration is ideal.
“It was obviously designed for fairly substantial vessels and, of course, conditions are changing,”he said. “We could build the most wonderful concrete and steel pier in the world and if it’s under water in 100 years, it won’t matter what it was made of.”
City staff say the work could be completed this fall and winter with the closed portion of the pier reopening in next spring.
Coun. Pam Madoff said that while the pier’s use in terms of marine traffic has changed over the years, she’s always considered it a “land-based amenity for the public.”
When used during big events, she said, it allows people “to really be out there almost in the water and enjoying those types of events.”
Madoff said she was pleased the pier improvements have aligned with the master planning process for Ship Point.
Last month, the city unveiled its detailed design concept in the Ship Point Master Plan.
The drawings show a festival site near the main pier, a picnic site and a variety of places where people can eat and drink or just sit. There’s a boulder area to play in and explore, and hammocks offer lounging space while reminding people of Victoria’s maritime heritage.
According to a staff report, the city acquired the Ship Point property through a 2014 land swap with the province. The pier itself is now co-owned by the city and the GVHA
More than 500 timber piles support the pier with 15,000 square metres of timber decking and asphalt surface. The structure has three main components — the north apron, the old pier and the pier extension. The old pier and north apron formed the original structure built in 1949. The pier extension was built in 1979.
