Coaster File Photo
The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, which owns the pier, has hired a firm to investigate what caused the damage to the pier in December.
The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association said it has retained the McLaren Engineering Group, a top 500-Engineering News Record-ranked firm that has been conducting marine engineering design and investigations since 1978, to conduct the investigation into what caused the breaking of three newly-installed pier pilings.
The pier has been closed to the public since December.
In October and, again, in December, the Ocean Grove pier suffered damage when unusually strong ocean wave action caused three of the 88 newly installed pier pilings (out of a total of 154, for the entire pier) to break.
In an abundance of caution, the pier was closed until a proper investigation as to the cause of that damage has been identified.
McLaren will be conducting a review of both the design and construction of the pier in order to determine the cause and extent of any damage to the Pier. It is expected that this investigation will begin shortly.
The camp meeting said it will not be commenting further until McLaren presents its findings. Any further information will be forthcoming as it is received.