VENTURA PIER AWASH IN EFFORT TO SHORE IT UP.

Byline: Deborah Sullivan Daily News Staff Writer

A $600,000 improvement project began Monday at the Ventura Pier to repair damage caused by heavy surf in 1995 and reduce further hazard to the historic structure during severe storms forecast for this winter.

The three-month construction project will shore up the pier with steel bracings and replace cracked, deteriorated or broken pilings, said Rick Raives, Ventura's city engineer.

``We're excited about the reinforcement, and we're looking at a heavy winter here,'' said Brian Brennan, a board member of Pier into the Future, a private, nonprofit group dedicated to preserving the wooden wharf.

The city hopes the improvements will keep the pier intact during the expected El Nino storms this winter. The 4-inch steel pipes, in effect, lash together separate pilings, spreading the force of waves throughout the entire pier and allowing it to withstand rough weather, Raives said.

``The concept is, you try to make the whole pier act as one structure, as opposed to each pile acting separately,'' he said. ``That will help the whole structure distribute the forces more easily.''

The pier is a historic and recreational treasure to the city, said board members of Pier into the Future.

``It's a recreational resource for viewing, for fishing, for walking, strolling, enjoying the waterfront,'' said board member Barbara Harison.

It's also a landmark to Ventura's history of commerce, recalling a time when oranges, cattle and other products were loaded from the pier onto ships.

Originally built in the late 1880s, the pier was slated for demolition in 1986 when community members rallied to save it, Brennan said. In 1993, the pier underwent a $3.5 million renovation, only to be ravaged by storms two years ago that washed away a 420-foot section of its length.

The city received a $2.1 million insurance reimbursement for the damage, and will use $600,000 of that for the immediate improvements, Raives said.

The remaining $1.5 million will be set aside to rebuild the section of the pier that washed away. But that's only about half of what the project is expected to cost, so the city and pier supporters are seeking grants to cover the rest of the costs, he said.

The city already has secured a $250,000 grant from Wildlife Conservation Board, Raives said, and Brennan added that Pier into the Future is pursuing grants from the Coastal Commission and other agencies.

Although wooden piers are susceptible to damage, he said, they also offer a truer experience of the sea than their concrete counterparts, he said.

``I think the uniqueness about a wooden pier, when you're out there when the swells are going, it's like being on a ship,'' he said. ``You can feel it bend and swell. When you're on a concrete pier, there's no connection. A wooden pier really gives you the feel of the ocean.

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Photo

PHOTO (color) On the Ventura Pier, Joe Adame with the company Cushman Construction removes bolts in preparation for new pilings.

Bob Halvorsen/Daily News