Storm-battered but still in good shape, the Imperial Beach Pier will receive two missing pilings next week as construction crews begin $2.6 million in repairs to ensure California’s southernmost pier can survive for decades to come.

Reyes Construction Inc., which was leased by the Port of San Diego last October, will begin the maintenance project on Monday.

The most labor-intensive repairs are scheduled for Wednesday through Friday, weather permitting. The pier will be completely closed to the public on those days as crews place two timber piles using a helicopter for positioning.

Repairs will extend into summer 2025, with only partial closure of the pier expected for most of the repairs. However, future floorboard replacement work and plumbing pipe work may require a temporary full closure of the pier, the port said in a news release.

Originally built in the 1960s and rebuilt in the 1980s, the nearly 1,500-foot-long pier in Imperial Beach has been managed by the Port of San Diego since 1991.

Agency spent millions in 2021 and 2022 aesthetic improvements to the city’s waterfront attractions, including the addition of an artistic shade structure and distance markings. All three structures of the pier (Tenek Fish Restaurant, lifeguard tower and public bathrooms) were repainted and repaired.

The agency is now beginning to compile a list of corrective and preventive maintenance needs, many of which were first identified in the 2018 condition assessment report.

last year port Reyes Construction was hired repairing plumbing pipes under the pier, replacing two pilings that had drifted into the sea over the years, and replacing corroded electrical panels in the pier’s electrical room. Since then, the firm has been working to secure project materials due to supply chain delays affecting the timeline.

Jesus Puebla, the port’s engineering and construction project manager, said the backup piles in question, which arrived last week, were unnecessary in nature.

Imperial Beach Pier in September 2021 closed for five days He was seen floating in the ocean after a stake broke. However, the agency determined at the time that the missing pilings did not affect the structural integrity of the pier.