CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The lowest bid on the Bob Hall Pier rebuild project came in at $1.4 million over the set budget of $21 million. Since that time, everyone from County Commissioners to County Park Board members have been trying to find ways to narrow the gap. One way to do that is to use concrete to form the piers pilings versus using the proposed steel design.
”Regardless of whether they go with steel pile or concrete pile they’re going to build it for a 50-year lifespan,” Nueces County Coastal Parks Director Scott Cross said.
While cost cutting measures are being applied to the pier's construction design, 3NEWS wondered if the structure would still be able to withstand the hurricanes Mother Nature may send our way.
"I have confidence from visiting with engineers that the concrete will hold up, it will certainly be a safe and I think it will be just as strong,” Coastal Parks Board of Commissioners Chairman Troy Adler said.
He also believes that the redesign of the pier is also going to ensure it will stand up to storms like Hurricane Hanna.
”The storm that hit us was an unusual set of circumstances, and it took a direct hit and I think even with the redesign of the end of the pier to be a diamond shape head, it’s going to help with a lot of the potential damage in the future,” Adler said.
The cost cutting measures are expected to be voted on by Commissioners Court at its next meeting on June 18.
Construction could start in early fall and be completed within a year and a half.
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