Redesign Cuts Fish Pier Walkway Cost By $300K

CHATHAM – A new pedestrian walkway along the south jog at the municipal fish pier will cost about half as much as originally projected.

 A “value engineering” review of the plans resulted in a change in the configuration of the walkway, which is to be located between an offloading area and the beach. Initial designs called for the path to be cantilevered, but the new less expensive plan has the walkway supported by pilings. 

 The cost was originally estimated at $700,000, but the new design, plus the choice of a concrete walkway with a composite substructure as materials, resulted in a new projected cost of $296,650. That includes a 25 percent contingency, Natural Resources Director Greg Berman said at the March 25 select board meeting.

An estimated $99,950 in engineering, design bidding and construction administration brings the total cost of the project to $396,600.

The project is the final phase in a long-term, multimillion-dollar reconstruction of the commercial pier, which included rebuilding the observation deck, reinforcing the packing back interior columns, replacing the south jog bulkhead, rebuilding the wharfinger building deck and stairs, and the addition of pedestrian walkways. Various other infrastructure upgrades were also completed, such as improvements to utilities to improve coastal resilience.

The new walkway follows the outside perimeter of the lower-level parking area to the south jog pier and is designed to improve safety by keeping pedestrians away from the working areas of the facility. Continuing the walkway along the pier’s south side, to separate pedestrians from the fish offloading area, was originally part of the bulkhead project, but it was removed from that work due to permitting delays, according to a memo from Berman.

Jersey barriers put in place to separate pedestrians from the offloading area will be removed as part of the project, and an existing concrete wall will remain as a way to maintain the separation. That will create more space in the offloading area, enough for two trucks to park side-by-side, Berman said. The walkway will be 70 feet long and six feet wide. Access to the beach south of the pier will remain, he added.

The cantilevered design avoids the need for knee braces that could trap debris and contribute to long-term maintenance issues, Berman’s memo read, and plastic timber framing and support elements will have a greater longevity. Concrete decking will be more cost-effective and durable and more consistent with the south jog’s existing materials and design. 

All of the project’s permits are expected to be in place within the next few months, Berman said. Final designs and project bidding will take place over the next few months, with work projected to be done in the fall, once the heavy tourist season is over.

There are enough funds remaining in the $11 million waterfront bond approved by voters in 2017 to pay for the work, Berman said. The project was not part of the $4 million waterfront infrastructure bond that voters turned down last year.

The select board authorized Berman to move forward with the final engineering and bidding and asked that he return with final construction figures.