It’s smooth sailing for the new Anna Maria City Pier.
Work driving T-end pilings for the pier finished Feb. 21. Work on walkway pilings soon will follow.
Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said Feb. 21 that i+iconSOUTHEAST had completed driving 70 14-inch diameter concrete T-end pilings — more than a third of the 206 pilings needed for the new structure.
Before Icon workers can drive the remaining 136 pilings, a work barge must return to a shipyard in Hillsborough County to load the 12-inch diameter concrete pilings for the walkway.
Murphy said Icon remains on schedule to finish pile driving in March. He said work has proceeded as planned, keeping up a pace of driving seven-eight piles a day.
Icon has worked six days a week due to a late start that began Feb. 1, including working Presidents Day Feb. 18.
The 50-foot pilings are driven 30 feet into the sand and clay bottom in Tampa Bay using a combination of jetting and hammer driving. Uneven pile ends will be leveled off before decking is installed.
The T-end platform will be made of concrete and topped with ipe wood. Wood bents will shoulder the load of ipe decking used for the pier walkway.
The city’s contract with Icon requires the contractor to complete the pier walkway and T-end by Aug. 26 or pay a $975 penalty for every workday after.
The city has yet to address building the restaurant and bait shop at the T-end.