Gulfport to Repair Piers Damaged by Hurricane Isaac
Walter Rode, Project Manager Consultant, says, "We’ll repair all piers, the Ken Combs Pier, which is located off Courthouse Road, the Moses and Urie Piers, and the Libby Roland Pier on the west side of Gulfport."
Not only have these piers provided leisure activity for families on the Coast, but for some people, it’s their livelihood. Rode also says, "We were all very aware that these piers and jetties provided a family function, not only for providing time for parents and their children to spend quality time together, but also to provide sustenance for their families for food."
After almost three years of waiting, the holdup has been the concern of the potential impact to endangered sea turtles that are indigenous to the Coast. Rode says, "It wasn’t the repairs to the piers and jetties that was a concern, it was if the fishing activities would capture some of our protected endangered turtles. So they did a biological opinion to how many turtles may be caught once the piers are repaired."
The City of Gulfport hopes to begin construction on two piers that hold special meaning to the city, like the Ken Combs Pier, which is the namesake of the former mayor, and a representation of his service to the city. Rode also says, "And of course, Libby Roland, who we recently lost, was our great councilwoman who represented the city, so that will be my recommendation to the city is that we start on those piers consecutively."
As for the turtles, there’s no need to worry because the city has a plan to continue protecting them. Rode closes, "We’ll have signs on all the piers, a number that they can call if any of our fishermen happen to catch a turtle by hook that they will call the number, and somebody either from the city or from I.M.M.S. will come out to secure the turtles and hopefully rehabilitate them and release them again."
The $850,000 project is expected to start mid-February.
Leave a Reply