Construction for new deck closes portion of Port Aransas pier

Call it growing pains: Portions of a popular beach pier in Port Aransas will close it for the next six months.

Nueces County is building a new observation deck at Horace Caldwell Pier and is anticipating construction to last until June 30, according to a Jan. 6 order from the county’s judge Barbara Canales. The closure will affect the section to the left of the pier as well as parking.

Rendering of the observation deck below:

The order said the new deck will become an additional amenity for residents and visitors to the I.B. Magee Park, which is along Port Aransas beach.

According to the Port Aransas South Jetty, the new observation deck isn’t the only improvement the county is making to that area. The county plans to demolish and rebuild the park’s office, as well as establish a boardwalk to connect the park to The University of Texas Marine Science Institute.

“Once you get to the end of 2021, you’re not gonna recognize that section of beach as part of Port Aransas,” Scott Cross, the director of Nueces County Coastal Parks, told the newspaper. “It’s just gonna be totally different with everything that we’re doing.”

Priscilla Aguirre is a general assignment reporter for MySA.com | [email protected] | @CillaAguirre