JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — The community now knows the fate of construction on the Jacksonville Beach pier.
The City of Jacksonville owns the pier ,and this week, it awarded a $9.8 million contract to reconstruct what needs to be repaired.
Many people who frequent the pier said the news is music to their ears. City leaders predict it will take about two years to fix.
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The pier at Jacksonville Beach has existed for more than 100 years.
Michael Covington, a fisherman, said for the last decade, he's made the pier part of his home.
Covington said he moved to Jacksonville Beach specifically to go fishing every day and he remembers what it looked like before it was damaged by the last two major storms
"I've been coming here, like, 10 years and before when I used to be out here, it used to be full of fishermen. Now we only have a little small spot when it's low tide," Covington said.
The first wave of damage happened during Hurricane Matthew in 2016, followed by a second big hit during Hurricane Irma in 2017.
This week, the city awarded almost $10 million to Hal Jones Contractor LLC to repair the nearly quarter-mile-long pier.
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Action News Jax pulled its history and found the company was fined more than $7,000 after an employee died after falling 15 feet on the job during a bridge construction project. The company is also facing a lawsuit due to a driver in one of its vehicles crashing into another vehicle.
The Jacksonville Beach pier project is predicted to start in November of this year and last until November 2021. Beachgoers are hoping it's even better than they remember.
"I do believe that if they added a restaurant, not just a restaurant but a bait shop/restaurant, that it would bring a lot of tourists here. It would boost the economy crazy," Covington said.
The contractor and city officials in Jacksonville did not want to comment on the new contract, but people who frequent the pier are hoping the repairs get finished before the predicted date in November of 2021.
Cox Media Group
