Santa Cruz Wharf reopening this weekend after partial collapse
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KGO) -- The City of Santa Cruz is reopening the wharf this Saturday.
The big announcement was made nearly two weeks since the end of the wharf collapsed into the ocean.
On December 23, 150 feet of the wharf's end fell into the water, taking with it part of the Dolphin Restaurant and restrooms.
Thursday, we met surfers and beachgoers excited to hear the news of the reopening.
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San Jose residents Dora Alvarez and Brenda Gonzalez love spending time at the wharf.
"I love this place, it recharges me," Alvarez said.
"This is the best place, this is my peace. I shake because I'm just so excited to be here. Go have you some calamari, some drinks, there's a rotating bar that she's shown me - it's amazing," Gonzalez said.
The city says the wharf has been deemed safe, based on a recently completed sonar and engineering assessment.
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The sonar scan shows where three heavy pieces of construction equipment fell into the water.
The engineering assessment stated there's no structural damage other than the area that collapsed.
Capitola resident Averie Young visited Santa Cruz to see what the wharf looked like.
"I came out here to see the damage of it and I wanted to see it because I live close to Capitola, I wonder if it would look kind of the same or not," Young said.
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Roughly 20 businesses on the wharf with hundreds of employees can now reopen.
We met a couple visiting from Sedona, Arizona.
"Oh I'm sure everybody is so relieved, so we'll just have to come back another time," Noreen Ireland said.
The public is invited to the reopening ceremony scheduled for this Saturday at 10 a.m.
