Myrtle Beach area piers set timeline to reopen. Why are they loved by locals and tourists?

Robert Krouse knows the popularity of the Surfside Beach Pier.

As the newly-elected Surfside Beach mayor, he is questioned often about when the pier will reopen. The pier was damaged when powerful winds from Hurricane Matthew in 2016 sheared off half of its 800-foot-long walkway and closed it indefinitely.

The pier is a symbol for Surfside Beach, Krouse said. Surfside Beach’s pier, initially built in 1953, has been a part of the town’s identity for a half century.

Like many of the piers in the Myrtle Beach area, it has its loyal regulars and thousands of visitors come to it each year.

For many of them, this is not the first time they have had to rebuild or repair after damage from hurricanes or storms, demonstrating the importance the piers have in the area.

The Myrtle Beach area is home to more than two-thirds of South Carolina’s coastal fishing piers, according to US Today.

The piers in the Myrtle Beach area are often at the top of the list by national fishing websites and fisherman. There are eight of them along the Grand Strand, including the pier in Surfside Beach.

The fact that the pier is still not open after seven years has many people upset, including Krouse.

Surfside Beach Pier is not the only pier currently closed. Cherry Grove Pier, the only public pier in North Myrtle Beach, is still under repair after Hurricane Ian in 2022.

Myrtle Beach State Park Pier was temporarily closed Dec. 3 to repair damage it too received from Hurricane Ian, according to Park Manager Troy Crider by email. However, the recent nor’easter that hit the Myrtle Beach area Dec. 17 damaged additional support piles and delayed the Dec. 18 reopening of the pier, Crider said.

The pier has been an icon since it was opened to the public in 1990, Crider said. This is actually the fourth pier to exist at Myrtle Beach State Park and took nearly two years to be completed following Hurricane Hugo in 1989, he said.

“We’re currently working with experts to determine the best path forward,” Crider said. “When we know more, we will share updates on the website.”

Here is an update on when the piers could be open this year.

Surfside Beach Pier

Krouse said town council thought everything was going well with the pier. However, during a town council meeting on Jan. 23, council members received disappointing news “that the repairs, per the inspections, were not proceeding as quickly as we hoped,” Krouse said.

There are now regular meetings each week regarding the pier with the hope of seeing significant progress, he said. Krouse said the main problem is that inspections of the pier showed that the construction was not meeting specifications per the engineering firm.

Krouse expects that the city will have a completion plan for the pier from the contractor by the end of this week.

Town administrator Gerry Vincent said he met with the construction company on Tuesday and he should have a schedule by Friday on when repairs will be completed and next inspections will happen. However, he stopped short of providing a potential opening date, adding that “we’ve been burned on that before.”

The town has announced several possible openings of the pier. It was announced that it would open in October and again by Jan. 1. However, each one of those dates have come and gone.

Krouse said the opening depends on the inspections. However, officials are hoping to be open by spring.

“We could just throw out a number, but it wouldn’t make sense,” Krouse said of a date for the opening.

Vincent said there will be another inspection in two weeks and there still needs to be a final inspection on the steps and railings.

FEMA awarded the town $15 million to pay for the pier, but the costs have climbed to more than $20 million.

“I believe both residents and visitors alike will enjoy fishing, dining, walking and simply hanging out on the pier,” Krouse said by email Jan. 30. “Once we have it completed, I hope to address kiosks for entertainment or shopping options and the potential for live music. The pier will be unique, considering its height and construction and ultimately be a symbol for Surfside Beach.”

Vincent said the new pier will be “totally different” than the old one with three additional tenants, including an ice cream shop and bait and tackle store.

He said that residents who have been in Surfside Beach since the pier closed in 2016 haven’t been able to get on it since that time. “A lot of people are looking forward to that,” Vincent said.

When people walk out to the end of the pier and “look backwards toward the inland, it’s gorgeous,” he said. “When it’s a nice day, with the breeze, the people, the colorful houses on Surfside Beach, it gives you that ‘ah’ feeling.”

Cherry Grove Pier

Pier manager Edgar Stephens describes the progress on the Cherry Grove Pier, located 3500 N. Ocean Blvd. in North Myrtle Beach, as taking a “couple steps forward and a couple steps back.”

“We had some setbacks,” he said.

Due to additional damage that was found, construction is taking longer than originally expected, Stephens said previously. Currently, crews are building and replacing deck boards, pilings and braces.

Progress is being made, Stephens said, adding that it appears the pier will open in mid-April or the first of May.

The pier was built in the 1950s and extends about 985 feet out into the Atlantic Ocean. Over the years, it’s suffered damage from several hurricanes, including Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

When construction is complete, visitors and locals can expect an overall new look to the pier as well as improved lighting.