Materials needed to build Margate pier extension have been delivered to the beach near Huntington Avenue.
MARGATE – The Anglers Club of Absecon Island Tuesday received its first shipment of materials needed to extend the Margate pier 300 feet into the ocean. Some of the heavy lumber needed to build the extension was delivered to the landward side of the sand dune through the vehicle access point at Huntington Avenue.
The lumber is neatly piled away from homes until it is needed to construct the pier extension.
Anglers Club President Jeff Rutizer said the project should take four months to complete depending on the weather.
The project is being done by Larsen Marine Services of Sea Isle City, the same company that completed the Avalon Pier extension more than five years ago, he said.
Rutizer said the first six or eight vertical pilings will require installation from a barge out in the ocean. After that, the remaining pilings, which measure 55-75 feet, and decking will be installed from the top of the pier.
“They use water to make the holes where they insert the pilings,” Rutizer said. “It’s like putting toothpicks into Jell-O.”
The pier extension became necessary due to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Absecon Island Shore Protection Project, which built the dune and extended the beach by 100 feet, putting sand where the water used to be. The project limited fishing to when the tides were high.
“We were fine before the dune,” Rutizer said. “If it were not for the dune, we wouldn’t have needed to do an extension.”
Although he did not disclose the final cost of the project, Rutizer previously said the DEP’s estimated share of the cost, $850,000, came with a hitch. It would have to be accessible to the public.
The outer T of the Margate Pier.
Rutizer said the Anglers Club is attempting to be “proactive” by extending the pier another 175 feet at their own expense, considering that future beach replenishments could add more sand under the pier. The club embarked on a capital campaign last summer to raise the money it needed for its share of the project.
“We raised some of the money but not as much as we needed and are still trying to raise more so we don’t leave our funds depleted,” he said.
Rutizer said donations can be made on Venmo.com, or sent to The Anglers Club Centennial Fund, PO Box 3126, Margate, NJ 08402.
“They agreed to get us to where we were before the dunes were erected,” Rutizer said. “That’s great, but every time they replenish or sand migrates, we could be in the same situation again. We wanted to be proactive and look at the pier 50 years out.”
The city has agreed to install steps on either side of the pier for the public to gain access and enjoy the view. Although the city may install park benches and trash receptacles in the public space, no rest room facilities are planned.
The private fishing area and the clubhouse will be separated from the public observation area by two locked gates.
“We moved our fishing gate to the end of the existing inner-T. Another gate will be built 15 feet from the clubhouse,” he said.
The middle section is the area open to the public.
The Anglers Club of Absecon Island was founded in 1923 by H. William Shaner at a time when “gentleman fishermen” got dressed up in their finest duds to go fishing. It has been privately owned and operated since it was built with members paying an annual fee for pier maintenance.
The pier has had its share of near devastation over the years, including the Storm of 1944, which washed away sections of the pier and the adjoining boardwalk, and a fire in 1988, the cause of which is unknown. The pier sustained about $100,000 in damage during Hurricane Sandy, but repairs were funded by the club with no help from the state or federal agencies.
In its hayday in the 1940s, the club had as many as 200 members, but membership dropped to 50 members after the 1988 fire destroyed a portion of the pier. The club increased its membership to 157 before the dune project, and now has about 121 members, Rutizer said.
Although anglers have access to the clubhouse and pier 365 days a year, the pickings are slim during the winter months so there is not much activity on the pier now. Rutizer is hoping the project will be completed by May when the fishing gets better.
“We want to get it done before the fishing season starts, but it’s hard to say exactly when it will be done because the weather could affect the process,” he said.
https://www.downbeach.com/2019/02/12/plans-underway-to-extend-margate-fishing-pier/
