Initially scheduled to open this month, the nearly $32 million new fishing pier at the Bolivar Peninsula’s former Rollover Pass is still on track to open by the end of the year, according to the Texas General Land Office.
Galveston County Precinct 2 Commissioner Joe Giusti shared the updated timeline at last month’s meeting of the Brown Bag Lunch Series hosted by the Bolivar Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, according to the chamber’s website. Giusti has not yet responded to Chron’s requests for more information.
However, a GLO spokesperson told Chron the timeline was established when the original contract for the pier was executed in March 2024, and that Hurricane Beryl that July had caused “widespread damage and a work delay” at the site. Despite the storm, construction began the following March.
“These delays, which were beyond the GLO and the construction contractor’s control, resulted in the Rollover construction contract being extended until December 24, 2026,” the spokesperson said.
Additionally, last month the GLO added five days to the contract to “investigate the need for buried infrastructure removals,” the spokesperson explained. The pier should still be completed before the end of the year, “barring any other delays that may occur that are beyond the GLO and contractor’s control.”
Extending 1,000 feet into the Gulf of Mexico, the T-shaped pier will be well lit and accessible, originating at a beach divided into umbrella-rental and camping sections. Nearby amenities include vendor stands, a bait shop and a fish-cleaning station. Across Highway 87 will be Bayside Park, which will offer hiking trails, a birdwatching tower, and a kayak-rental kiosk for boaters keen to dip their paddles in East Bay.
The state filled in Rollover Pass in 2019, a move that still smarts for many residents of Crystal Beach, Gilchrist, and other communities on the fishing-mad peninsula, to say nothing of the countless visiting anglers who once made it one of the region’s top fishing destinations. However, others criticized the GLO and the county for prioritizing the pier over other infrastructure projects such as improving Highway 87 or fighting coastal erosion.
But customers of Nancy Blacksher, owner of the nearby Miss Nancy’s Bait Camp within sight of the new pier, haven’t been put off by the project. When the new pier is ready, she told Chron Wednesday, so will she.
“The construction is not affecting our business at all,” Blacksher said. “In fact, we are having a great summer. We are looking forward to the pier’s opening as there will be plenty of business to share!”