Santa Cruz Wharf Likely to Be Closed for Weeks After Partial Collapse

The Santa Cruz wharf is likely to remain closed for weeks, potentially months, after part of its end tumbled into the ocean during heavy surf last week.

As strong waves nearing 20 feet tall pounded the coast on Dec. 23, a 150-foot section on the end of the wharf collapsed, bringing down a public restroom, heavy construction equipment and three workers who were assessing its structural stability. The section was already closed for repairs after taking storm damage last year. None of the workers was seriously injured.

Santa Cruz city officials are still surveying the damage and assessing structural integrity to determine when the wharf can reopen, according to the city manager’s office.

Crews are also still working to clear debris from along the coast — heavy machinery, including a crane and a skid steer loader, fell to the sea floor, and huge wooden pilings, weighing hundreds of pounds apiece, were sent adrift. The public restroom that was on the end of the pier floated about a half mile south and settled at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River. Debris has washed up on beaches 10 miles south of the wharf.

Meanwhile, state officials are assisting with the recovery and cleanup after the city and county of Santa Cruz declared a local emergency last week, allowing for aid from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

“Conversations and decisions around rebuilding are yet to be determined at this time,” a spokesperson for the city manager’s office said in a statement this week.

The Santa Cruz wharf is over a century old, and its wooden pilings are often buffeted by powerful waves. With climate change expected to fuel more frequent, stronger swells in the future, officials must weigh whether it’s worthwhile to rebuild the section that fell into the ocean — and commit to the years of maintenance that are likely to follow, said Kate Talerico, a Mercury News reporter who covered the fallout of the collapse.

“It’s not a matter of if the wharf is going to get damaged again at some point; it’s a question of when — and that’s the nature of the beast,” Talerico told KQED this week. “When you stick anything into the ocean, it’s going to be impacted sooner or later. The Pacific Ocean is going to win out eventually.”

At a press conference last week, Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley said it may not make sense to rebuild the part of the wharf that collapsed. Unless the entire structure is rethought with climate change top of mind, Keeley said, “I don’t believe this wharf can be there for another 100 years.”

“What we experienced in the last couple of days — this is what we need to plan for. This was not what was planned for when the wharf was built,” Keeley said. “I personally wonder how many times the federal government or any other entity is going to pay to repair and replace this very, very old technology.”

In the meantime, there is still no timeline for reopening the part of the wharf that is still left standing — leaving several businesses in limbo.

KQED’s Katherine Monahan and Nik Altenberg contributed to this report.