PHOTO BY PAULA MULLER
Marblehead resident Michael Baizen pulls his boat onto the beach next to the town’s newest pier, William Pattison Landing.
BY GAYLA CAWLEY
MARBLEHEAD — It took more than a decade, but William Pattison Landing, the town’s newest pier, is finally open.
“The running joke is it took longer to build this pier than it took to build the Panama Canal,” said Webb Russell, Marblehead Harbormaster.
The project, previously dubbed Stramski Pier, was originally named for the family that owned the surrounding park before the town acquired it.
Last month, the Board of Selectmen approved a request from the Harbors and Waters Board to rename the pier after William Pattison, one of its former members.
Pattison, a long-time member of the Harbors and Waters Board, was passionate in his endeavor of this long project, but unfortunately he passed away in 2010 and did not get to see the project completed, Russell wrote in a letter to the Selectmen.
The weekend marked the opening of the $370,000 pier, at Stramski Way and West Shore Drive. Dedication is set for August, when all the work is completed. Russell said there’s some “fine tuning” that needs to be done.
The new pier includes a 240-foot wooden walkway, which extends to two docks in Salem Harbor. Initially, the walkway was to be 200 feet, but a 40 foot extension was later needed, Russell said.
Another delay was due to a former neighbor who fought the project for five years and the permitting process took “forever,” he said.
One permit required was from the U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers, which couldn’t be issued until the completion of a $12.5 million sewer pipe replacement, which connects the Stramski area underneath the harbor to South Essex Sewerage District’s treatment facilities in Salem. That project was completed by the South Essex Sewerage District, Town Administrator John McGinn said. The project was needed because an existing pipe needed to be replaced, he added.
The pier provides access to Salem Harbor from West Shore Drive, where boaters can dock their boats for 30 minutes at either 40-foot float to pick up or drop off passengers, Russell said. Having the docks open to the public after nearly 13 years is a relief, he added.
McGinn echoed those comments.
“Everybody’s excited,” he said. “There’s a lot of excitement about getting that additional access to the harbor.”
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley
