CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Officials confirmed to 3NEWS that they have been granted the construction permit for the rebuilding Bob Hall Pier.
According to Nueces County Coastal Parks Director Scott Cross who overseas our beaches, this permitting process can be a lengthy one especially due to the Endangered Species Act.
Cross said not only is the federal permit in, but it's early by nearly six months.
He was pleasantly surprised to receive the federal permit after previous setbacks caused by changes to the design of the pier.
"We lost a lot of time but at the end it gave people what they wanted, so we had to get started all over again," Cross said. "It's been one year and a half close to two years on the permitting side of things. I really did not expect to see this permit for another four to six months."
According to County Commissioner Brent Chesney, receiving the permit keeps the project on track of schedule.
"That's the hope, been the hope all along is to get it started this year and we couldn't have started this project without this federal permit but we just got it," Chesney said. "It's not something we could control."
The county commissioner said they will get the final renderings of the pier from engineers on March 1. The pier will be over 1,200 feet long, 20 feet wide and include both a ramp and an ADA ramp.
There will be a 50x50 covered structure in the water, and another 50x50 area to the side which will be considered for future use of as third party concession.
"We will hear back from the engineers on March 1 and then we will head into the construction phase as soon as possible," Chesney said. "It's just another great step to keeping this on budget and on track."
Cross said they are hopeful construction could start in the fall of this year and take about a year and a half to complete.
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