Replacement approved for Oceanside's pier access bridge

Jul 09, 2023

Plans to replace rather than restore Oceanside’s 96-year-old Pier View Way Bridge and lifeguard headquarters, along with a $3.2 million contract for the next phase of design and environmental work, have been approved by the Oceanside City Council.

Demolition of the old facilities and construction of new ones at the foot of the city’s iconic wooden pier are expected to cost about $40 million in today’s dollars. Several more years of planning are needed before construction begins.

“Despite maintenance efforts over the years, the bridge continues to deteriorate and requires restoration or reconstruction,” said Darra Woods, the city’s project manager, in a recent presentation to the City Council.

Oceanside’s pier has been the city’s star attraction since the first one was built in 1888. The 1,954-foot-long pier there now is the sixth, completed in 1986, to replace one destroyed by storms. The concrete and steel access ramp, known as the Pier View Way Bridge, has been there since 1927.

The city’s lifeguard headquarters is beneath the bridge, on the western side of the narrow beachfront street it crosses known as The Strand. Besides having to dodge the occasional chunk of fallen concrete, the lifeguard staff has outgrown the building.

There’s only room for 18 of the department’s 35 employees in the building and more will be hired in the next few years, Woods said. Also, the headquarters west of The Strand can only be rebuilt within its existing footprint. Space is limited there, but for public safety purposes lifeguards need their view of the beach.

The city plans to accommodate the growth by building a three-story accessory structure against the bluff east of The Strand, now the site of the single-story Tin Fish restaurant. The first floor of the new building will continue to be leased as a restaurant.

Studies by the city’s consultants showed that replacing the structures would cost less and last longer than restoration. Also, the reconstruction can be built to look the same as the original bridge and buildings that many Oceanside residents love.

The City Council voted unanimously to approve the reconstruction and a second phase of a contract with Moffatt & Nichol, the lead consultant on the project.

One public speaker, Bob Nelson, opposed the approval, saying he had concerns about traffic and parking. He asked the city to postpone a decision and consider his suggestion that access to the pier be lowered by creating an underpass beneath the bluff-top Pacific Street.

Woods said Monday the suggestion was “noted but not contemplated in this phase of the project.”

“In addition to being outside the scope of this project, to properly evaluate the possibility of this suggestion would require a lengthy review and more extensive studies regarding utility impacts, groundwater and shoring, adjacent hotel subterranean parking, how it relates to the Coastal Act, right-of-way constraints, ADA accessibility, construction costs, maintenance costs, etc.,” she said in an email.

Oceanside Historical Society Vice President John Daley, who also serves on the city’s Historic Preservation Advisory Commission, supported the recommendation made by the consultants and city staff.

“There is no question in my mind that this is a proper way of approaching this,” Daley said. “It’s an icon that can’t be replaced any other way ... and provides so much joy for people going out on the pier and enjoying our community.”

Planning also is underway for the renovation or replacement of other aging city facilities near the pier, including the Junior Seau Beach community center, the amphitheater and the bandshell. In October 2022, architect Steve Johnson estimated construction costs at $11.4 million for the community center improvements, and $31.7 million to rebuild the amphitheater and bandshell.

Measure X, a seven-year temporary half-cent sales tax approved by Oceanside voters in November 2018, has been integral in funding design and environmental review for the beachfront projects, Woods said.

“The hope is that Measure X funds will be available for project construction when the time comes,” Woods said. “However, the city will also be looking for alternate funding sources such as grants, bonds, loans etc. for the construction.”