Work will begin Friday to repair Gulfport's hurricane damaged piers. The Ken Combs Pier, Urie Pier, Moses Pier and Westside Pier were all significantly damaged in August of 2012 when Hurricane Isaac's wind and storm surge crashed into South Mississippi.
The repairs will be completed by J. E. Borries. Gulfport City Spokesman Chris Vignes said the contractor may work on multiple pier locations at a time, but the Ken Combs Pier at the foot of Courthouse Road will be repaired first.
Vignes said work will begin with two crews. One crew will do demolition work at each site. The other crew will begin construction.
Fishermen have voiced their frustrations for two and a half years about the delays in getting the public piers repaired. The repairs were on hold for almost two years because of concerns that fishing off those piers threatened the endangered Kemps Ridley turtle.
Once NOAA determined in March of 2014 that the turtles would not be endangered by rebuilding the piers, the federal funding was approved.
The overall price tag to fix all four piers is just under $850,000. Gulfport leaders expect their pier repairs will be completed by Memorial Day.
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