RIVIERA, Texas — We are currently in hurricane season and this is a crucial time to stay prepared because as you’ve seen in the past, Mother Nature can really cause severe damage.
Over in Riviera, their public pier is now complete and celebrated with a ribbon-cutting after it was destroyed by Hurricane Hanna.
Past images show just how much damage the Riviera pier faced. Hanna ripped the wood of the decking apart making it dangerous to walk on the pier, to taking out the lights and needing new pipes.
Now, the 490-foot pier with a 100-foot t-head is completed and finished just in time for the summer.
“Again, it was horrendous after Hurricane Hanna, it had its toll on us and not only did it knock down the county pier but it knocked the pier that belongs to private citizens out here," Kleberg County Judge Rudy Madrid said. "So our top priority was to get it back up and running."
Chuck Webb is a resident who lives nearby and says the storm took out his pier from his home but is excited to see the public pier open which will allow him to go fishing with his sons.
“Now all the kids are out of school, we got relatives coming in for the first time since COVID and they all want to fish and this is the place to go,” said Webb.
The completion of the pier, located on the Baffin Bay, will also bring in summer tourism which Madrid says will help area businesses.
“This was great because it brings people to the restaurants, stores, and the area around Riviera,” said Webb.
“God works in mysterious ways," Madrid said. "What started off as a tragedy turned out in becoming a huge benefit for the community."
We also spoke to area commissioners who say it took about four months for the pier to be completed.
