SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Leaders in Surfside Beach are once again dealing with issues that are delaying the completion and opening of the town’s new pier.

There are two “critical issues” affecting the work on the pier, Mayor Bob Hellyer said Friday in his weekly update about town events on Facebook.

One issue involves the “fire suppression system,” which Hellyer said “requires a schedule for inspections to be conducted to ensure public safety.” The second issue is the security system.

According to Hellyer, the town initially planned to have the security system installed after construction on the pier was finished. After the cost became “astronomical,” he said town leaders looked at the problem and decided to have the work done during construction to save money, leading to another delay.

Hellyer noted that officials did not learn about the delays until earlier this week and added that “these delays are not the fault of any of our stakeholders.”

Hellyer previously said he expected the construction to be completed in mid-April, but he has not provided a timeline for when it could be opened.

“It is unfortunate, but delays like these are problems that every construction project must deal with,” he said.

Recently, the contractor building the pier began removing a temporary structure used by workers during the construction.

The town worked through a lengthy construction delay last fall while the town’s leaders worked through some problems with building and construction permits. The problems slowed construction on the buildings on the pier but the work resumed in October.

Crews broke ground on the new pier in December 2020. It is replacing the former pier, which was destroyed by Hurricane Matthew, which hit the region in October 2016.

After the hurricane, town officials talked about repairing the damaged pier before eventually deciding it would be safer to tear it down and build a new one. Then, in August 2017 the town’s leaders voted unanimously to replace it with a new concrete pier.

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Dennis Bright is a digital producer at News13. Dennis is a West Virginia native and graduate of Marshall University. He has won copyediting and journalism awards in Virginia and Ohio. Follow Dennis on Twitter and read more of his work here.

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