A renewed walk on the water

June Casagrande

The concrete has dried and most of the workers have gone.

Both of Newport Beach’s piers are officially open, sparkling with the

newness of a $2.9-million renovation that amounted to the biggest

overhaul in their 60-year lives.

The Balboa Pier reopened to foot traffic on Feb. 27, after having been

closed since Jan. 2. The Newport Pier, closed since Jan. 28, reopened

Friday.

“It’s been a neat job. You don’t get these every year,” said Lloyd

Dalton of the city’s Public Works Department, which oversaw the job.

At times, as many as 40 workers were on the piers, pouring about 2

million pounds of concrete, reinforcing and replacing pilings, and

hollowing out trenches to hide utility lines from sight and from harm’s

way.

The far-reaching renovation, designed to practically assure the piers

will live past 2020, included replacing the entire concrete surfaces of

the 1,032-foot-long Newport Pier and the 919-foot Balboa Pier. The Balboa

Pier also boasts a new wooden handrail where corroded wooden pipe was

once mounted.

“They have really turned out nice,” Dalton said. “The finished product

looks good.”

Doryman’s Inn on West Ocean Front is one of the many businesses that

hope to benefit from the Newport Pier’s added appeal.

“It’s lovely. It really complements all our businesses really nicely,”

said Rhondda Kerr-Pirbazari, manager of the inn, which has also recently

undergone extensive aesthetic improvements.

She said she was happy the pier would reopen in time for the spring

season. “It’s fabulous,” she said.

Balboa Pier is just a few small steps away from completion. The job

will end after a scrutinizing spot check zooms in on every nail that

needs another hit, every splinter that needs sanding.

Work on and around Newport Pier will continue for several weeks. One

open trench to hold utilities will be barricaded from pedestrians until

aluminum covers are finished and installed. Some plumbing still has to be

put in place under Newport Pier Seafood. And the workshop at the base of

Newport Pier, where lifeguard towers are built, is still undergoing work

on its entryways and roof.

“I was blown away,” said Mayor Tod Ridgeway, whose district includes

the peninsula. “They feel different. They just feel clean, new and nice,

and that component alone was very much needed. “

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .