Eastern Skyway pier heads for demolition after two year closure.
Officials say they expect partial demolition of the eastern Skyway piers to begin early next summer. A total of 61 sections of the piers on both the north and south side of Tampa Bay will be removed as part of the project. The work will take about 10 months to complete and will cost an estimated $4-million.
The eastern Skyway piers have been closed for nearly two years now due to safety concerns while the parallel western piers remain open. Originally the piers were part of the approach to the old Skyway bridge.
The Florida Department of Transportation says eventually a decision will be made about the western piers as well. They are popular places for anglers but are aging.
“Basically if we did routine maintenance on that, that could last another five to 10 years and if you did a major rehab on it it could last longer. However we don’t have the funding for a major rehab on that so you have to keep that in mind,” said FDOT spokesperson Cindy Clemmons.
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