Southend Pier Closed After Barge Collision

Southend Pier has been closed as of Tuesday the 6th of September 2011, as a result of an impact by a barge.

High winds on Tuesday caused the 80 foot barge  that was being used by contractors doing work on the pier, to crash into the end of the pier.

For more, see the video clip on the BBC News site: Southend Pier: Engineers Assess Damage

It appears that no serious damage has been done to the infrastructure of Southend Pier as a result of the collision, but the pier will remain closed for at least two weeks whilst repairs are carried out. It seems that there is damage to the support pilings and some of the walkway. The pier is off-limits, and pier trains are not running.

At the time of writing, temporary repairs hope to be completed allowing the pier to re-open on Saturday the 24th of September.

Therte’s some discussion of the Barge vs Pier story in our Forum: Southend Pier Damaged

For the latest information on the pier closure, please see www.southend.gov.uk/news