ST. PETERSBURG — Eighteen months after Hurricane Helene tore through the fishing pier at Jungle Prada de Narvaez Park, the structure still stands in Boca Ciega Bay — closed, deteriorating and untouched.
Most of south Pinellas County has lagged. Fort De Soto’s Bay Pier, damaged by the same storm, will not finish construction until the fall. Jungle Prada has no concrete rebuild plan.
North Pinellas moved faster. Safety Harbor is running electrical conduit on its new pier. Dunedin has a contract, a state appropriation and a year-end completion date. Clearwater’s Pier 60 partially reopened on Labor Day. Even Pass-a-Grille’s 123-year-old Merry Pier bait shack got a unanimous vote to restore it…