GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) — A popular fishing pier on Green Bay's east side may be getting removed.
The Porlier Pier, originally built as a railroad bridge nearly 150 years ago, was redesigned in 2005 for pedestrian use. The pier is located where Porlier and Adams streets connect near the Fox River Trail.
Now, the pier is temporarily closed. Signage shows the conditions are unsafe, and a fence is blocking the pier's entrance.
"What we kind of have here are rotting timbers," District 9 alderperson Brian Johnson said. "It's old."
A Menominee County, Michigan engineering company, AKRO Engineering & Design PLLC, released a structural assessment report about the bridge last month.
The report found that several aspects of the pier, including bracing and the decking, are in poor condition.
"It was built in 1878," District 10 alderperson Mark Steuer said. "There was damage done to it by a fire."
"The damage caused by the fire that created structural integrity issues, that's since been removed," Johnson said.
Steuer is on the city's Park Committee.
His panel recommended to the Common Council that the pier should be removed.
"I think that it's very important to preserve our history," Steuer said. "I think the vote that I took was more or less based on the safety of the structure itself."
Johnson and the rest of the Common Council decided to hold off on removing the structure, so they could look at other options.
"Once these structures are gone, they're gone," Johnson said. "You can never get them back."
The costs to remove, repair, or even replace the pier are not clear right now.
Despite the poor structural conditions on the pier, Johnson says to his knowledge, no pedestrians have been injured.
"Really where the threat comes at this point is a severe storm or an ice shove," Johnson said. "So, if we close it off, and there's no pedestrian access to it, it really limits our liability exposure."
Johnson says city leaders are currently examining alternatives regarding the pier, which could be presented back to the city in a couple of months.
