VANCOUVER — The White Rock promenade that was closed because of damage caused by a wind storm in December will reopen Thursday.
The city says the promenade, referred to by First Nations as P’Quals, will reopen at noon. White Rock’s wooden pier, however, remains closed. Winds of up to 100 km/hr sent boats smashing into the half-kilometre long pier, causing it to break in half. The sudden damage left one man stranded and needing to be rescued by a helicopter.
The city says staff, along with contractors and clean up partners like BNSF Railway, have removed over 500 tons of logs and garbage.
Hazardous materials such as fuel tanks, batteries, metal fragments and boat components were also removed.
Mayor Darryl Walker says he is pleased they will reopen the promenade, which is popular with residents and tourists.
“Staff and our partners have been working hard to clean up the debris, garbage, and hazardous material since the December 20, 2018 storm hit our waterfront,” he said, in a statement Thursday.
“It is clear that much work still needs to be done, but we are hopeful that we can share more good news with our community about the progress we’re making around waterfront restoration efforts.”
Crews will continue to work on East Beach, which remains closed for repairs until at least the end of April.
Meantime, the estimated cost to repair the pier could top $6 million, and more than a third of the costs will be for replacing damaged piles, decks and floats.
Walker expects the pier to remain closed until the repairs are completed, likely not before August.
— With a file from Susan Lazaruk
