COASTAL OBSERVER

Work to replace the Pawleys Pier that was damaged in 2022 by Hurricane Ian isn’t expected to start until after the 2025 tourist season. And it isn’t expected to be completed until the end of 2026.

“It’s amazingly detailed and complicated,” said John Felton, a member of the board at Pawleys Pier Village, which owns the structure.

The private community is seeking federal and state permits for the work. The state Department of Environmental Services is taking comments on the permit requests through Dec. 25 at epermweb.dhec.sc.gov.

The board of the village always planned to rebuild. “It’s an iconic part of Pawleys Island,” Felton said. “It’s just a lengthy process.”

Hurricane Ian made landfall at North Island in September 2022. The storm surge broke off 267 feet of the 800-foot-long pier. It was insured for $5 million.

The plan calls for demolishing the 553 feet of the pier that remain and building a new pier in its footprint. It will also be made of timber.

The length and height, 27 feet above mean water, will not change. The village hopes that it will be more resilient.

“It will be built to withstand a 30-year storm,” Felton said. “They put in a lot of work on the front end to make sure it will last.”

The pier opened in July 1954. It was washed away three months later by Hurricane Hazel and rebuilt the following year. Pawleys Pier Village bought the property in 1968 and the condos followed.

The pier was destroyed again by Hurricane Hugo in 1989. 

Repairs were made to the pier over the winter of 2008-09 after it was found that marine worms had attacked the wooden pilings. The project replaced 20 pilings.

During the work, a 10-ton crane broke through the decking and landed on the beach when a timber broke. No one was injured. The accident took place on a Friday morning in February.

Demolition and reconstruction will all be done “top down,” Felton said, meaning the crews will work from the existing pier. “They’re going to build it as they go out.”

Once the project has its environmental permits, it will need a building permit from the town, Administrator Dan Newquist said.

“It’s certainly a different type of structure than we normally see,” he said.

The town contracts with a national firm, SafeBuilt, for its plan review and inspections.

Newquist has already had conversations with JMT, the Mount Pleasant-based engineering firm that designed the new pier. “Nothing really has come as a surprise,” he said.

For the town, the biggest issue is likely to be when construction takes place over the beach, Newquist added.

“The most important thing is we’re very cognizant of the Pawleys Island community. We want to do it with the least impact,” Felton said.