Brand new $16,000,000 state pier messed up by Ida.

[trof]

Planking panels dislodged and blown out by...WAVES?
Pier closed now for an indeterminate time.
I mean...:wtf:???

The old pier at Gulf State Park in Alabama was totaled by Hurricane Ivan back in 2004.
The new 16 mil pier opened a few months ago.
Longer, higher, stronger.

The contractor said "If we get a Category 3 storm, we’re probably going to lose some panels and get some damage."

Yeah, well...Ida was a freaking TROPICAL STORM.
Not even a hurricane.

Somebody needs to be in BIG trouble about this.
:grr:

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. Link to the story.

http://blog.al.com/live/2009/11/gulf_state_park_pier_to_be_clo.html

says the panels were designed to blow out when waves hit them.

[trof]

6. Right, but in a damned TROPICAL STORM?

With winds of 30-40 miles an hour MAX?
Not even a hurricane?
Tropical storms are a dime a dozen in the gulf.
'Hurricane' Ida, although hyped to the max by TWC and MSM, became "The Rain With a Name".
:rofl:
I don't buy it.

[malaise]

2. The Contractor will probably be

promoted.

[Shagbark Hickory]

3. It's a built-in safety mechanism.

To keep people off the pier during a storm, the pier rapidly disintegrates.
It's high-tech.

[frylock]

5. brilliant!

:rofl:

[trof]

7. High tech - Low expectations.

;-)

[MercutioATC]

8. Actually, you're half right.

It's a built-in safety mechanism designed to relieve stress on the structure by sacrificing certain parts.

It's actually smart engineering.

[truedelphi]

4. I'm wondering if the architects/designers and contractors are related to

The folks who put together the NEW 6 *billion* dollar Bay Bridge repairs in San Francisco.

We all saw how that turned out 2 weeks ago.

They had worked on this re-construction for a long long time. Traffic held up continually for this boondoogle. And it only was deemed "finished" in September of this year.

Like you say, heads should fly. But somehow that is never the story.

[Nikki Stone1]

9. Alabamans will be paying for that pier for a long time too.

,,,,