You start at Pacific Street and cross the white concrete bridge over The Strand. Then you head west on nearly 2,000 feet of wooden deck, past the bait shop, the restrooms and the fish-cleaning station at the last offset, and you hit a fence. Everything beyond it is the hammerhead, the wide platform where the former Ruby's Diner building and the Brine Box kiosk stood until the fire in April 2024. That part has been closed since. About 90% of the pier is still open.
Two decisions this month set how long that fence stays up. For at least the next year, the pier's activity will be at its foot, and the foot of the pier also carries the biggest bill.
Twenty-two cables before the rain
On October 21, the Oceanside City Council voted unanimously to hire Jilk Heavy Construction, a Brea company, to install 22 temporary cable braces under the damaged end. The base contract is $273,982. With up to $100,000 for change orders and $55,000 for project management and inspections, the total can't go over $428,982.
The city first estimated the job at $150,000 to $220,000. Only two bids came in, and both were higher. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Jilk's bid at about $278,000, a little above the $273,982 in the city's contract. Marathon Construction of Lakeside bid $880,000, and its plan used timber stringers, some decking and "X" braces that would take longer to put in and would have to come out before permanent repairs.
The braces have two jobs. They keep the burned end standing through what City Engineer Brian Thomas called an El Niño-fueled storm season, and they hold it up while crews later replace the deck and railing. "We are working hard to get the bracing completed by the end of the calendar year (before the winter rains come) or shortly thereafter," Thomas told the Union-Tribune. As of late October, crews were expected to start in a few weeks, so work at the west end should begin sometime between now and the holidays.
Storms have taken this pier before. The current wooden pier dates to 1986, when it replaced one wrecked by winter storms.
Why the end stays fenced longer than the fence suggests
From April through early October, the repair start date held at spring 2027. Then, in late October, it moved.
| Source and date | When permanent deck and rail repairs start | How long |
|---|---|---|
| City of Oceanside update, April 15, 2026 | Spring 2027 | About eight months |
| Union-Tribune, October 4, 2026 | Spring 2027, with a break from late May to early September | About eight months |
| Union-Tribune, October 25, 2026 | Later in 2027, possibly after Labor Day | About eight months |
The reasons for the slip are practical. In mid-September the repair design was about 50% done. Permit applications and the lumber order were in process, and either can take three to six months. "The lumber is going to take a long time to come from the Pacific Northwest," Thomas told the City Council on September 16, according to the Union-Tribune. By late October, the city was aiming to finish design and permitting in late spring or early summer 2027, and Thomas said the repair work might have to wait until after Labor Day.
Do the math on a September 2027 start and about eight months of work, and the hammerhead reopens sometime in 2028. Next summer gets no construction at the end of the pier, but the fence stays.
Rebuilding the restaurant comes after that. The city says the leaseholder plans to rebuild, but there is no timeline or design yet. Thomas has said the goal is to "open the end of the pier to the public, while the future restaurant is being designed and permitted." So when the hammerhead does reopen, expect open deck and a railing, with no building on it.
The bigger bill sits at the foot of the pier
The burned end has a funding plan. The city's losses are covered by PRISM, a public-agency insurance program. In September the city received a $3,377,182 insurance advance, which the council set aside for the pier on October 21. The city's staff report lists $4,709,432 in total PRISM advances so far. The bracing contract comes out of that money. The rest goes toward a repair estimate of up to $17 million, a figure the city came up with two years ago that doesn't include rebuilding the restaurant or the Brine Box. If the insurance policy won't cover some costs, Thomas told the Union-Tribune, the city has already talked with Cal OES about reimbursing up to 75% of them, and the city would pay the remaining 25%.
Walk back to shore and you're on the larger problem. The white Pier View Way bridge, which carries you from Pacific Street over The Strand to the wooden deck, is the only way onto the pier. It was built in 1927. Saltwater has corroded the steel inside, and chunks of concrete have fallen off. In 2021, a piece of ceiling fell onto a lifeguard administrator's desk in the building under the bridge deck, which once was a public dining hall and now holds the city's lifeguard headquarters. A 2018 consultant's study found that the bridge doesn't meet current seismic and structural standards.
The replacement is expected to cost about $82 million. The city has spent about $9.7 million on planning and set aside another $12 million, leaving a gap of about $60 million, according to the Union-Tribune. That gap is more than three times the entire fire-repair estimate. Part of the reason is that the bridge carries no cars. "It is not eligible for Caltrans or (Federal Highway Administration) grants or funding," Thomas said. The city is looking at other sources, including Proposition 4, the 2024 state measure for parks, outdoor recreation and climate adaptation.
After years of community meetings, the city settled on tearing the bridge down and building a longer-lasting one that looks much like it does now. "This is a very critical project for the city of Oceanside," Mayor Esther Sanchez said. Councilmember Eric Joyce said residents "are eager to give (the bridge) a fresh look."
So the two ends of the pier are stuck for different reasons. The burned end is waiting on lumber and permits. The bridge at the entrance has a design everyone agreed on and is missing most of the money to build it.
What fills the base of the pier through the holidays
The fence at the west end and the old bridge at the east end leave everything in between open. The busiest stretch of the calendar right now is at the foot of the pier, along The Strand, Pier View Way and the Junior Seau Pier Amphitheater.
- Every Thursday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: The Oceanside Farmers Market runs year-round at Pier View Way and North Coast Highway.
- Thursday evenings, 5 to 9 p.m.: MainStreet Oceanside's Sunset Market picks up after the morning market closes.
- Saturday, November 7, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: The free A Sublime Life Sobriety Festival is at the Junior Seau Pier Amphitheater.
- Saturday, November 21, 2 to 5 p.m.: The Oceanside Museum of Art lists a plein-air paint-out that meets at the pier entrance. Painters can work on the beach shops and the coastline. The listing went up in March, so check with OMA before you go.
- Thanksgiving, November 26: The 5K for the O'side Turkey Trot starts at 330 N. Coast Highway and finishes at The Strand and Seagaze. The expo is at the pier amphitheater.
- December 3, 10 and 17: MainStreet's 2026 calendar has a holiday tree lighting on December 3 and Holiday Gift Markets on all three Thursdays.
Beach rentals are on off-season hours. Oside Shack was open Fridays through Sundays through November 1, weather permitting, and went to reservation-only after that. It also warns that big pier and beach events can mean it closes or keeps shorter hours. That matters on Turkey Trot morning.
The open section is still good for fishing. You can get past the bait shop and the fish-cleaning station. The city's April update listed public hours of 4 a.m. to 10 p.m.
This winter, you'll see a bracing crew working beyond the fence at the west end. At the east end, holiday crowds will cross a 99-year-old bridge that still needs about $60 million.
At The Joseph Realty Team, we follow projects like the pier because they shape how coastal Oceanside feels day to day, and over time they shape how buyers see the blocks around it. If you own near the pier and want to know how this stretch of the coast affects your home's value, we're glad to walk you through it. Get Your Free Home Valuation.
