Norwalk beach pier opening soon, Mocciae says

NORWALK, Conn. – Expect a completed Calf Pasture Beach fishing pier by Memorial Day, according to Norwalk Parks and Recreation Department Director Mike Mocciae.

“The pier, jetty, seawall will be completed prior to Memorial Day,” Mocciae said in a Friday email. “The rails, weather permitting, will be going up next week on the pier, the sea walls are complete except for the cosmetic stone façade, and the jetty should be completed the end of next week, again with prevailing weather conditions.”

The pier, jetty and seawall were heavily damaged by Hurricane Irene in 2011. The city obtained Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant money to repair and rebuild the structures, but, in October 2012, Superstorm Sandy came before the work had been done and damaged the structures more, complicating matters.

The pier’s elevation will be increased by 3 feet at its base with the sidewalk.

“We’re starting at three, we’re doing an incline that is accessible – a foot, spread out across about 150 feet,” Mocciae said a year ago. “Once we get to one transition point, we go up another foot. At the end, we’ll be up 5, 5½ feet higher than it is, which is the main platform area.”

A June 2013 request for proposals (RFP) specified a $1 million budget for the project. It called for construction to begin approximately Aug. 15 and to be substantially completed by Dec. 1.

The concrete work on the Calf Pasture Beach seawall was described as “85 percent complete” in late January by Harbor Master Mike Griffin.

Mocciae said a year ago that the cost for the pier would be $1.2 million, with some reimbursement expected from FEMA. “I don’t know how much yet, but I would say at least $500,000,” he said.

On Monday, he said the budget was $1.56 million. The project is $35,000 to $40,000 over budget due to change orders, he said.

“We should be reimbursed for 70 percent, still waiting to see if they are going to fund the mitigation regarding making the pier higher,” he wrote in an email. “We are already getting mitigation money for the jetty and seawalls.   Should find out within the next several months.”