Inside look at the Naples Pier construction

NAPLES, Fla.- WINK News is getting a sneak peek at construction of the new Naples Pier.

The pier will shut down after the Fourth of July festivities, that’s when pieces of the new pier will arrive by barge to begin the construction.

“The gateway to paradise.”

That’s what the Naples Pier was known as when it was first built in 1889.

“Over the years, there were many hurricanes where it was partially destroyed or completely destroyed. And over the time, they added 100 feet and 100 feet and now we’re at 1,000,” said KP Pezeshkan with Manhattan Construction.

Now 126 years later, the historic landmark is about to get its fifth renovation.

“It’s a symbol of Naples, so it’s exciting to build something that’s gonna last for decades and decades and decades,” said Pezeshkan.

The pier’s rotting wood and rusty nails will be replaced.

“We had to prefabricate a lot of the pier off site,” said project manager Brett Martin.

Right now,the deck is being assembled in Fort Myers in 30-foot sections. Eight of about three dozen pieces are complete. Once the demolition begins on July 6, those pieces will be put on a barge in Fort Myers Beach and moved to Naples.

“The demo will also be done from a barge, so it’s gonna be taken off in sections with a crane as well as installed piece by piece in those sections,” said Martin.

Each section will be placed on the concrete beams and piles already in place.

Hurricane and turtle nesting season will be obstacles for crews to overcome. A tunnel will be built under one section of the pier so beachgoers can pass through.

The project is expected to be complete by the end of October.