Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – Mara Magdalena Avelar Mondragón, president of the Emiliano Zapata Neighborhood Association, reports that the city government continues to work on the first stage of repairs to Los Muertos Pier, the iconic landmark in the Puerto Vallarta Romantic Zone. Its platform and pilings have suffered severe damage and thus its maintenance was urgent.
The damages to this pier, inaugurated in 2013 and already one of Puerto Vallarta’s main tourist attractions, are visible on the platform. It shows fractures in many places and has rusty rods showing. People have stolen some pieces of the stairs, the entire structure is moldy, and there are loose electricity lines.
It is also important to replace the missing railing bars & bench boards and repair the lighting fixtures – all of which have deteriorated due to the passage of time, visitors, and the environment.
“They have already been working there for a month and a half, they started very slowly, we were worried … we said they will not finish, but at the end of the day they already have already finished repairing a large part of the top of the sail, especially the lighting. They say they will finish at the end of September, we are waiting for that, the work is going well,” she said.
The community leader and businesswoman stated that they have cleaned the platform, replaced the stainless-steel bars and painted and fixed the lighting fixtures. The city has invested around 2.5 million pesos in the repairs, which are being overseen by engineer Juan Arias, the Puerto Vallarta municipal government’s Director of Public Works.
However, the pylons, which are submerged at 11 meters, are corroded, but have not yet been addressed. “I believe that the lower part of the pier will be addressed in the second stage. The pylons need a particular kind of paint, but right now they’re concentrating on the surface,” Nena Avelar explained.
Experts have recommended replacing the cathodes and anodes. Those are the iron plates that regulate corrosion. Also, they have to get rid of barnacles, which attach to the steel and eats away at it. Finally, they must apply an epoxy compound.
Source: Tribuna de la Bahia
