WELLFLEET — Fire Chief Joseph Capello issued a cease-and-desist order on Sept. 17 to prevent fuel delivery trucks and water tankers from driving onto the commercial L-pier at the town’s marina.
“We just want to prevent a disaster from happening,” Capello told the Independent.
The chief said that he had inspected the L-pier last week after interim Harbormaster Stuart Smith expressed concern to him about its condition.
Capello said that seeing the extent of the deterioration of the wood decking on the surface of the pier, which in some places have been patched with plywood and in others is “completely falling apart,” had led him to issue his order. He did not inspect the substructure, he said, but he expected that it was in a similar state of disrepair.
Smith, who has inspected the substructure, told the Independent that there was “considerable worm damage” to the pilings that support the L-pier, which was last renovated in 2008.
“It’s old,” said Smith, also pointing to the use of creosote, a wood preservative derived from coal tar, on the piling. “You haven’t been able to use creosoted piles in quite some time,” he said.
Smith added that many of the bolts in the crossmembers that keep the pilings from shifting have rusted or broken.
Based on these evaluations, both Capello and Smith said that they did not think the L-pier could safely support traffic from heavier vehicles like the Cape Cod Oil trucks that fuel the commercial fishing boats or the 18-wheeler 10,000-gallon water tanker that visits the L-pier to pump water from the harbor.
“Prudence is the best course of action,” said Smith, adding that he would notify Cape Cod Oil and the driver of the 18-wheeler about the cease-and-desist order.
“The fuel companies can still do their job,” said Capello. “They can park at the very beginning of the pier and run the hoses down.”
Capello said that other vehicles, such as the trucks that offload catch from the fishing boats, were not restricted from using the L-pier at this point. Smith acknowledged that the decking is in “tough shape,” but he said that the L-pier will also remain open to pedestrian traffic.
Smith said that further structural assessment will proceed with the town’s building dept. and the engineering firm Tighe & Bond, which will assess the load capacities of the L-pier next week.
Smith said he had asked the company to provide two assessments: the first for the condition of the structure and recommendations for any further restrictions on its use and the second for the replacement cost estimates of the engineering and permitting.
Once he receives those estimates, Smith said, he would supply them to Town Administrator Tom Guerino, the select board, the marina advisory committee, and the public so that discussions about the L-pier’s replacement can begin, and funding opportunities can be evaluated.
“Construction is years down the road,” he said, noting that permitting alone would take about two years. But he added that long-term planning for replacement of the L-Pier is “certainly warranted.”
