SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle officials ordered the closure of Pier 57 on the downtown waterfront Friday, saying they were concerned that the unstable status of nearby Pier 58 could put people in danger.
Pier 57 is privately owned and houses the Miner’s Landing tourist shopping center, along with the Great Wheel attraction, The Seattle Times reported. It’s directly next to Pier 58, a city-owned structure that partly collapsed Sept. 13 during demolition work.
A massive chunk of Pier 58, also known as Waterfront Park, plunged into Elliott Bay. Two members of a crew working to take apart the deteriorated pier were tossed into the water but escaped with minor injuries.
The collapse occurred at the north end of Pier 58, close to Pier 59, where the Seattle Aquarium is located. Trees, concrete planters, a concrete terrace and a bronze fountain came down when the steel-encased concrete piles holding up that section of the pier gave way. The piles for years had been corroding.
State and federal workplace safety inspectors have opened investigations into the collapse at Pier 58.
