OPTIONS TO BE EXAMINED FOR PIER BRIDGE

Concrete pathway, area underneath in need of upgrades in Oceanside

One of Oceanside’s oldest and most iconic structures may get a new look.

The fenced concrete pedestrian bridge built in 1927 from Pacific Street to the municipal pier, a favorite attraction in the seaside city, is badly in need of an upgrade.

Options for the replacement or rehabilitation for what’s officially called the Pier View Way Bridge, and the lifeguard headquarters beneath it, will be presented to the Oceanside Historic Preservation

Advisory Commission at its meeting Tuesday.

The current version of the wooden portion of the pier that goes out over the ocean opened in 1987 after a storm destroyed the previous one. The present one is the sixth since the first was built in 1888 at the foot of what is now Wisconsin Avenue.

Extensive maintenance and repairs were done to the access bridge and lifeguard quarters from 2016 through 2018. But the work was largely cosmetic and was considered a “stopgap” measure to prevent chunks of concrete from falling on people below.

The concrete and steel structures have long outlived their expected life, according to multiple city staff reports. The old materials are saturated with salt and seawater, which compounds the corrosion.

“The Pier View Way Bridge ... is in need of significant long-term major structural upgrades,” states a memo from Senior Civil Engineer Darra Woods to the Historic Preservation Advisory Commission.

A municipal dining room originally occupied the space beneath the bridge and remained there until 1987, when it closed and the city’s Lifeguard Division headquarters moved in. Today the Lifeguard Division has about 90 employees and has outgrown its offices beneath the bridge.

Sea-level rise also must be accommodated, along with statemandated handicapped access and other issues unknown in the Roaring ’20s.

Whether to restore or replace the bridge is a question to be answered as part of the planning that’s now under way. An initial community meeting to publicize the project was held in August, and more will be scheduled.

A replacement structure probably would be best, said John Daley, an advisory commission member and vice president of the Oceanside Historical Society.

“I like the idea,” Daley said Tuesday. “Substantially, it would look the same. There will be some minor changes, but it will look like it was built back in 1927.”

Design studies also are under