Popular shore fishing pier to close in March for facelift

The 500-foot-long fishing pier next to the Ocean City-Longport Bridge will close down for an extended period beginning in early March while work continues on a nearly $700,000 makeover.

The Cape May County Bridge Commission is scheduled to close the pier to the public on March 2 and anticipates it will reopen sometime before the Memorial Day weekend, weather permitting.

“The pier will remain closed for the duration of construction to ensure public safety. Updates regarding the anticipated reopening date will be provided as the project progresses,” the bridge commission said in a news release Thursday announcing the closure.

The bridge commission has approved a $668,300 construction contract for new wood railings, benches, picnic tables, fencing, trash receptacles and portable toilets. There will also be new fish-cleaning stations at the pier.

Overall, the bridge commission is dressing up the entrance to the pier to make it a much more attractive area for anglers, picnickers and sightseers to enjoy the picturesque Great Egg Harbor Inlet.

    The old fish-cleaning stations will be replaced by new ones.
  

Kevin Lare, executive director of the commission, said the idea is to create “quality opportunities not only for fishing and crabbing, but also opportunities for families and friends to have a nice picnic and enjoy the views.”

The fishing pier was created when the new Ocean City-Longport Bridge opened in 2002. A 500-foot section of the demolished old bridge was saved on the Egg Harbor Township side of the Great Egg Harbor Inlet for the pier.

During the summer tourism season, the pier is popular with anglers as well as sightseers who savor the panoramic views of the bay, marshlands and wildlife unfolding for miles.

The pier itself, though, is not so attractive. The wood railings that run the length of the pier are rotted in places, benches have holes in them, trash cans are deteriorated and even the concrete deck is dingy.

Cosmetic improvements will also include making repairs to the concrete deck, as well as replacing the compression seal that runs along the middle of the entire pier.

    Deteriorated benches like this one in 2024 will be thrown out and replaced by new ones.