The city of New Port Richey has finished repairs on the fishing pier at the James E. Grey Preserve. An inspection found the old wooden pilings were rotting.

Colin Eichenmuller, the city’s public works director, supervised the work. He says several of the timber pilings supporting the pier showed significant deterioration and rot. Much of each piling was still sound, he says, and the damage was concentrated near the wood line and the mud line. Crews fixed those sections by encapsulating them in PVC and filling the casing with concrete to reinforce the structure and anchor it in the ground. That repair method made replacing the pilings unnecessary.

The city says the work cost just under $47,000. Eichenmuller says this year’s slower-than-usual hurricane season, along with favorable weather and low water, made it a good time for the job.

The pier and walkway have been part of the preserve since 2008 and draw visitors to the mangroves and waterways. Scott Voth, a New Port Richey resident who walks the preserve with his wife, Carissa, and their two dogs, Roo and Django, says he is glad the city is maintaining it. He says a single storm could wipe out something residents take for granted. “It’s not often that we see the benefit of our tax dollars,” he says, calling the repair a direct result.

The pier is not the city’s only project. Eichenmuller says city staff keeps several projects in the design or construction pipeline, and that the city is always working to grow. Plans are also under way to upgrade the restroom facility at the preserve.

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