GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (WOOD) — New structural problems discovered within the Grand Haven pier will drive up the cost to rebuild it and delay its reopening until this fall.
The City of Grand Haven had hoped the south pier — a major tourist attraction — would reopen in time for the U.S. Coast Guard Festival during the first week of August.
The city then planned to re-install the catwalk shortly after that.
But the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers notified the city this week that it won’t finish the job until about mid-October, Grand Haven City Manager Patrick McGinnis said.
That delay means the city wouldn’t put up the catwalk until next spring, McGinnis said.
“They found more wrong with the pier than they originally thought, so they’re doing some additional work,” McGinnis said.
Tom O’Bryan, area engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Lake Michigan area office, said workers discovered broken tie-rods within the pier. That forced crews to halt work for two weeks as they waited for materials, O’Bryan said.
The discovery will add about $100,000 to the cost. The Corps of Engineers also got a new $500,000 grant to finish work at the end of the pier. That will push the total cost to about $3.2 million, O’Bryan said.
The city also announced this week that it’s raised $650,000 of its $1 million goal to save the catwalk.