Replacing the Pier and Restoring Shoreline Access at Menard-May Park
Menard-May Park is one of Edgewater’s busiest spots on the Indian River, with a beach, a playground, parking, and a fishing pier that locals have used for years. Hurricanes Matthew and Irma damaged that pier, and the City fenced it off.
The City of Edgewater brought in WB Williamson Bros. to replace the pier, approximately 1,000 square feet, along with the concrete sidewalk that leads to it. The pier needed to handle storm surge better than the one it replaced. Just as important, the path to it needed to stop washing out.
LOCATION
PROJECT TYPE
PIER SIZE
PRIMARY CHALLENGE
The Client’s Situation
Before construction, the old pier was a weathered timber structure with leaning framing and missing sections. The shoreline beside it was armored with rock, but the concrete sidewalk leading to the pier ran right along the water’s edge with nothing protecting its outer side.
The City had two goals: a pier designed for storm surge, and a sidewalk that would stay in place when waves and high water reach the shoreline.
What Made This Project Challenging
Waves Undermining the Sidewalk Edge
A concrete sidewalk built on sand depends on the sand underneath it. When waves wash that sand out from under the outer edge, the slab loses support, cracks, and breaks off in pieces. Because this sidewalk runs along the shoreline to the pier entrance, it takes the same wave action as the pier.
Storm Surge Uplift on the Pier
Like the City’s other pier at Veterans Memorial Park, this structure needed to resist water pushing up under the deck during a storm.
Shallow Water and a Busy Park
The water off Menard-May Park is shallow, and the park draws families and anglers every day. Material, dumpsters, and equipment had to be staged without shutting down the rest of the park.
Protecting the Pier and Shoreline Sidewalk
For the sidewalk, we encapsulated the outer edge with TW50 vinyl corrugated seawall panels. The panels form a low wall along the slab, holding the sand beneath the concrete in place so waves cannot wash it out from under the edge. The new sidewalk connects the park to the pier entrance.
For the pier, our crew removed the damaged structure and built a new L-shaped pier on longer pilings than the original. The deck is the same ThruFlow grated decking used at Veterans Memorial Park, which lets water pass through instead of pushing the deck upward. Material moved to the work area on small floating barges that could operate in the shallows. The framing and railings are pressure treated timber.
Coordinating With the City of Edgewater
Public projects depend on good coordination between the contractor, the engineer, and project manager. The City’s engineer and project manager guided this project for Edgewater, and both joined us on the finished pier once the work was complete.
The Finished Result
Menard-May Park has a new pier that reaches past the rock shoreline into deeper water, with a wide end platform for fishing. The walk out to it no longer depends on an exposed slab edge. The sidewalk is now lined with vinyl panels, so the whole route from the parking area to the end of the pier was built with the shoreline in mind.
WB Williamson Bros. also replaced the pier at Veterans Memorial Park for the City of Edgewater.
Materials and Specifications
- Approximately 1,000 sq. ft. public pier
- ThruFlow grated decking panels
- Longer timber pilings than the original structure
- Pressure treated timber framing and railings
- New concrete sidewalk
- TW50 vinyl corrugated seawall panels along the sidewalk edge
Protecting Shoreline Walkways at Public Parks
Piers get most of the attention after a hurricane, but the paths leading to them can fail too. If your park has a sidewalk or slab near the water, look for:
- Cracks or broken corners along the edge closest to the water
- Sand or soil missing beneath the slab
- Sections that have settled or tilted toward the water
- New erosion after storms or very high tides
Planning the pier and its approach together gives the public a complete, usable access point, not a new pier at the end of a failing path.
Let's Talk About Your Project
Since 1996, WB Williamson Bros. has built and replaced piers, docks, and seawalls for municipalities and private owners. If your community has a pier, walkway, or shoreline that needs attention, our team can assess the site and recommend a plan.
Call 239-283-2013 or fill out the form below to schedule a consultation.