CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Commissioners approved the new contract for Bob Hall Pier during Tuesday's meeting.
Below is the story prior to updates.
On Tuesday, commissioners are set to approve a new contract for the new Bob Hall Pier that comes in "under" budget and with an estimated build time of a little over a year.
"If you remember at the last meeting, the bid came in over budget," said Pct. 4 County Commissioner Brent Chesney said. "So between that time and this time, we've been working diligently with the team."
According to Chesney, the bid that will head to commissioner's court this week now comes in under budget by nearly $77,000. That's with no changes to the structure's design or quality.
"We've got a significant reduction on the cost of steel," he said.
To get those costs down Chesney says they did two things. They eliminated the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's (NOAA) platform, which the federal agency intended to use to monitor weather and ocean conditions. And they decided to construct a new concession instead of rehabbing the existing building.
"Now, we are going to end up with a brand-new building," he said. "The whole thing is going to be brand new, and that's probably going to save about a million dollars."
When it comes to the timeline, 3NEWS sat down with Coastal Parks Director Scott Cross who said after commissioners meet and come to agreement, the county will give construction company Callan Marine Ltd. a notice to proceed. They then have 30 days to move in their equipment.
"They might be able to mobilize faster than that, maybe take them a little longer, but it's important for people to know that when they mobilize, they are going to be setting up on an old area of Padre Balli Park behind the dunes," Cross said.
Contractual agreements between the county and bidder state that the pier will take 460 days to build. That's one year, three months and five days.
The construction company will face fines of a $1,000 a day for each day it's late.
All this means Bob Hall Pier should reopen by October 2025.