Surfside Beach pier construction projects on hold

While the debate over the Surfside Beach Pier restaurant lease rages on, repairs to the pier itself and construction of an entertainment deck have stalled.

The pier repairs, which were slated to be completed by March 1 and extended to March 26, and the entertainment deck, which was slated to be finished by the July Fourth weekend, are still incomplete.

Both projects experienced unexpected delays, said Surfside Beach Mayor K. Allen Deaton. But even without the delays, the original completion dates were "pie in the sky," he said.

"We're looking at a much more extended amount of time," he said. "We're trying to bring everything down to earth."

The repairs to the pier, which included replacing damaged pilings, were originally contracted to Carolina Marine Construction. But that company "had delays," Deaton said, and was nowhere close to completing the project by the original timeline.

At a March 23 council meeting, the town terminated its contract with that company and asked it to remove all its equipment from the worksite.

Deaton said the pier is structurally sound and there is no danger for anyone walking on the pier.

He said one man is currently replacing planks and railings on the pier and is "doing a phenomenal job."

The council will consider rebidding that work out in the upcoming months, Deaton said.

But Councilman Doug Samples said he does not think the council included those repair costs in its current budget.

He said he "wouldn't even want to hazard a guess," at the cost for the pier repairs, but the "council will need to amend the budget."

The construction of an entertainment deck near an entrance to the pier has also been delayed.

"We're behind schedule on that," said Samples "We had hoped that it would have been completed for July Fourth."

Deaton said work on that deck began without the proper permits from the Department of Health and Environmental Control's office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management.

"We had our own permits," he said. But he said that OCRM permits "didn't come through in a timely manner."

"That process didn't go as well as anticipated," Deaton said." We changed course in the middle of the stream."

He said it is "not a serious problem" and the town is now working closely with OCRM and "going through permitting process."

He expects the town to have the proper permit in the next 30 days.

"We expect things to go forward," he said.