President Cooper Reaffirms the St. Tammany Parish Fishing Pier Will Be Rebuilt

The St. Tammany Parish Fishing Pier in Slidell will be rebuilt, President Mike Cooper reaffirms.

The Pier was destroyed by Hurricane Ida days before it was scheduled to re-open after an expansion project. Since then, St. Tammany Parish Government has been working with FEMA to not only rebuild the pier, but make it stronger.

If we were to only replace the Pier as it was, it would leave the structure vulnerable for future storms to ravage the Pier again and again. Instead, we proposed building a stronger, more sustainable facility utilizing structural concrete, for which we are still awaiting final approval from FEMA.

While approval is pending, we have been designing the stronger Pier so we will be ready to begin as soon as we gain approval. We have called FEMA weekly to push along the process. This is a $3 million project, so it is imperative that we await federal funding. The project includes the Pier, restrooms, parking and more.

While the process is ongoing, St. Tammany Parish Government is designing coastal protection for the area, which includes a breakwater, as well as a boat ramp, additional parking, dredging of the cove and more.

“Let me be totally clear. We will rebuild the Fishing Pier in Slidell, but it must be more sustainable,” said President Cooper. “Our intentions are to revitalize this Pier for citizens to enjoy, without fear of damage from future hurricanes. Resiliency has been a driving factor in my administration, whether it is infrastructure, development, or the St. Tammany Parish Fishing Pier.”

We are hopeful to begin construction in 2024 with completion in 2025.