The Pile Driving at Pacifica Pier Starts Where the Pier Meets Beach Boulevard

The first sign was trucks. In its October 9 update, the City said Power Engineering Construction Co. would be hauling culvert pipe and base rock to the corner of Beach Boulevard and Santa Rosa Avenue, with deliveries between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., to build the base for a crane pad. The crane was scheduled to start rolling in on October 21, and pile driving was scheduled to begin Monday, October 26.

The first things going into the sand are meant to hold up the landward end of the pier and keep Beach Boulevard, the road and the utilities running under it, out of danger. This winter's work doesn't reopen the pier. Whether the pier gets rehabilitated, replaced or removed comes later, in a separate plan.

What the City says the work is for

The City's October 15 press release says it directly:

"These activities are temporary emergency measures intended to assist in stabilizing the pier, protecting public safety, and safeguarding Beach Boulevard and adjacent public infrastructure while the City evaluates longer-term repair options."

The same release says the pier stays closed to the public during stabilization. The City's pier status page still reads "Closed as of 6/4/26." No reopening date has been announced.

The order of the work points the same way. The August 24 City Council staff report on the Power Engineering contract lays out the first two steps, and both involve the end of the pier closest to the road.

The phase numbers run out of order on purpose. The staff report explains that the shoring goes first because it steadies the structure enough for everything after it. Nothing in either phase reaches out along the quarter-mile L of the pier toward the fishing end. Both phases sit at the shoreline, where a moving pier could pull on the street behind it.

Why the contract is paid one phase at a time

That shoreline focus explains how the contract is set up. Under the agreement, Power Engineering, an Alameda company, can't start any piece of work without a written phase authorization or task order from the City. The agreement also doesn't commit the City to approving every phase or spending more than it approves.

That's why no single price tag has been announced. The staff report says final cost depends on investigations, field conditions, regulatory requirements, sequencing and scope, and estimates will be refined as each phase goes forward. It also says how far the pier and abutment end up "repaired, further stabilized, or removed" will be decided by engineering evaluation and by the need to get critical work done before winter storms.

The agreement lists possible later phases:

• Removing the abutment and the sheet-pile wall
• Adding riprap to protect the shoreline
• A separate long-term plan that could rehabilitate, replace or remove the pier

That last item is the pier's actual future, and it sits outside the emergency work entirely. Engineering firm GHD, Inc. is working on it in parallel to support a later rehabilitation decision.

Early cost figures show the same divide between emergency work and the long-term plan. In late June, Coastside News reported a total damage estimate of $64 million: about $3 million in emergency repairs and more than $60 million for further work. That was an early, overall estimate for the whole problem, not the value of the Power Engineering contract. Most of that total falls under the work that hasn't been decided yet. On funding, the staff report says the City's insurer approved the agreement's full scope, and the City is pursuing reimbursement from California OES and FEMA.

What changes near Beach Boulevard through the winter

Because the work is concentrated at the shoreline, the effects stay within a few blocks of the abutment. Here's what the City has published:

1. Crane move, from October 21. Expected to take three to five days, with possible traffic delays, temporary detours and intermittent access restrictions along the crane's route and where it's set up. The City says it will post more detour details as they're available.
2. Pile driving, scheduled from October 26. The City says it will cause noise and vibration.
3. Parking. Expect limits on Montecito Avenue, on Santa Rosa Avenue and in the City Council Chambers lot. Equipment staging and crane work may mean temporary restrictions and fewer spaces.
4. Work hours. Normally 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If work has to happen outside those hours, the City will tell affected residents and businesses with door hangers, website updates and social media posts.
5. No drones. Drones aren't allowed along the crane's route or in the construction zone while the work is underway.

The City expects the emergency work to take about 120 calendar days. Counted from the scheduled October 26 start of pile driving, that's roughly four months, into early 2027. The schedule depends on field conditions, so treat that as a rough window, not an end date.

The closed area is bigger than the deck. The staff report lists the pier, the abutment, the concession building, the restrooms and the surrounding areas as closed. The City's emergency action in June also temporarily closed the beach area next to the pier, under Resolution No. 33-2026 and Emergency Order 2026-01. If you walk this stretch, check the posted signs on site before heading down.

The part of the pier that's already gone

The most visible change came before any crane showed up. The Chit Chat Cafe at the foot of the pier was demolished after the closure, and the San Mateo Daily Journal reported that the cafe's other location, at 5 W. Manor Drive, would stay open.

The pier itself dates to 1973 and is known for fishing and crabbing. The City's own page calls it one of the best fishing piers in the state, with no admission charge and no fishing license required. Nothing in this winter's work brings any of that back. That decision will be made in the long-term plan, after the shoring at Bent B and the wall at the abutment have secured the street.

Where updates will show up

Over the next four months, the City's pier page is where new phase approvals, detours and schedule changes will appear first, and it has an email sign-up for pier updates. For specific questions, the Public Works Engineering Division can be reached at (650) 738-3767 or [email protected]. The update to watch for is any City Council item on the long-term plan, because that's when rehabilitation, replacement or removal will actually be decided.

If you own near Beach Boulevard and want to know how a long construction window like this could affect showings, timing or what buyers ask about, Daniel Choi can walk through it with you. Schedule a free consultation and we'll look at your street, your timeline and the City's published schedule together.