A portion of the Cape Henlopen State Park fishing pier is still closed.
About 145 feet of the pier is closed, and it has been closed since November 2023 as the state figures the best option moving forward.
There are other areas fenced off that the public can’t use.
One option is repair the existing structure which DNREC estimates would cost up to $1.5 million - or replace the whole pier with a new one.
“To get it back to the original length of that 1800 feet. It's probably going to be closer to $22 to $25 million. To build new in that location just to get us there,” said Matt Ritter, director for the Division of Parks and Recreation.
Ritter notes that the pier is currently 1300 feet, and it has been cut back to that size as repairs have been made to it the last 13 years or so.
Even though there are two options moving forward, Ritter says one option is more likely.
“It's definitely going to be a rebuild. I don't see a way that we can just renovate the existing because there's so many pilings in the end, we would end up removing every piling. We did fiberglass jacket repairs to a number of them. But even those we would replace. So you're really replacing the whole thing one way or the other, whether it's built next to it and then demoing this or demoing and rebuilding, we have to figure all that out.”
Funding is the obstacle and Ritter concedes that will most likely take a few years, as the state looks for any way to get the funds needed.
Ritter notes those efforts include further analysis and meetings with stakeholders in the months ahead so DNREC can seek funding through the Bond Bill.
