While the steps to the fishing pier under the Matanzas Pass Bridge are already gone, there’s still a chance the pier can be saved. The state was in the process of removing the fishing pier after the town decided it would not take over the maintenance of the pier. However, that may change.
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Ray Murphy said he spoke to an F.D.O.T. engineer during the Matanzas Pass Bridge public meeting last week who told him there really wouldn’t be much maintenance required if the town took over the pier.
Murphy brought that new information to the council Monday. Town Manager Roger Hernstadt said the pier was in disrepair and the town was not in the business of repairing bridges. The state was willing to make the needed repairs to the pier if the town would take ownership of the pier after those repairs were made. Murphy suggested the town could sign an agreement with Lee County to fix any future repairs needed to the bridge being they are in the business of maintaining bridges.
F.D.O.T. spokesman Adam Rose told Beach Talk Radio News Monday that it is not too late to save the pier.
Hernstadt said he would ask an F.D.O.T. representative to come to a future council meeting to explain what the cost would be to maintain the pier moving forward.
Murphy said it’s an amenity to the town worth fighting for.
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