The first step in reopening the Anna Maria City Pier is to demolish the remainder of its destroyed walkway.
And there might be quite a few contractors interested in making that happen.
Ten contractors attended an April 23 mandatory pre-bid walkthrough of the damaged pier in response to the city’s request for proposals to demolish the walkway and remove debris, according to Mayor Mark Short.
The pier was left without much of its walkway following last year’s hurricanes, cutting off public access to the T-end, where the Mote Marine Science Education & Outreach Center and the City Pier Grill are housed.
The city hired Tampa-based Kisinger Campo & Associates to inspect the pier and they found that hurricanes Helene and Milton both played a part in the damage.
According to their report, storm surge and intense wave action from the storms may have destabilized the walkway piles, which underwent excessive bending and shear stress, by scouring the seabed and reducing their depth of embedment.
Another factor in the walkway’s destruction was the use of lower-grade materials than the T-end, which went largely unscathed.
While the T-end was built on solid concrete pilings supported by concrete bents, the walkway was built with hollow, spun cast concrete pilings supported by wooden bents, stringers and support beams.
The city aims to remove the remainder of the damaged walkway so a new one — designed and engineered by St. Petersburg-based George F. Young — can be built using solid concrete pilings.
The municipality issued its RFP for demolition of the walkway and debris removal on April 14. The deadline for contractors to submit a proposal is 11 a.m. May 16.
In the meantime, Short said he was “pleasantly surprised” that 10 contractors attended the mandatory pre-bid walkthrough, and it may be a good sign for competitive bids.
The city will open bids following the May 16 deadline.
Proposals will be discussed in a city commission meeting at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 22, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.