OLDSMAR, Fla. \u2014\u00a0A popular pier in Oldsmar is expected to fully reopen in two weeks after suffering damage from the 2024 hurricane season.<\/p>\n
The pier at R.E. Olds Park is finally getting necessary repairs. The end of the pier has been closed for about a year and a half.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
The pier at R.E. Olds Park is expected to fully reopen in two weeks
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The end of the pier suffered damage from hurricanes Helene and Milton
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New pilings were installed, and crews are now laying a new frame and decking
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Repairs cost $125,000, according to the city<\/p>\n
The park is cherished by many Oldsmar residents and their pets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re here every day, every morning training and playing and enjoying the park,\u201d said resident Maxine Drake.<\/p>\n
Maxine Drake and her dog Xena go to the park at least twice a day. Xena gets agility training on the field and Drake gets to see the stunning views from the 400-foot pier.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s just kind of beautiful, a great way to start your day, walk out to the end of the pier and enjoy the beautiful sunrise,\u201d Drake said.<\/p>\n
After hurricanes Helene and Milton, the pier had to be closed for an engineer inspection. The first 80% reopened in July 2025, but the final stretch remained closed because of damage to the pilings and deck.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really impacted us here, it’s the main attraction,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
About a week and a half ago construction finally started on the end of the pier. The director of Oldsmar Parks and Recreation Chip Potts said it\u2019s a $125,000 project.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was damaged before is being replaced as was,\u201d Potts said.<\/p>\n
Potts said crews have already installed new pilings. They are now laying the frame and a new deck. Once that\u2019s done, they will put the new handrails in.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe community here values the water views and the access to the pier for fishing; so, it’s a destination for our community to come out and watch a sunset, be with their family, do some fishing, or just enjoy the water views,\u201d Potts said.<\/p>\n
As construction continues, Potts said they are expecting the pier to fully reopen in two weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything takes time, we’ve been really patient, we’re just happy it’s getting done,\u201d Drake said.<\/p>\n
It won\u2019t be long before the entire pier is full of life once again.<\/p>\n
Potts anticipates the pier to be done in time for the iconic Oldsmar Days and Nights event.<\/p>\n
The celebration starts on April 10\u00a0and runs throughout the weekend.<\/p>\n
The festival honors the spirit of “classic Florida” and celebrates the town’s unique heritage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OLDSMAR, Fla. \u2014\u00a0A popular pier in Oldsmar is expected to fully reopen in two weeks after suffering damage…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211060,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[115,596,135,137,136,1374],"class_list":["post-211059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-news","tag-pinellas-county","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-tyler-oneill"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}