CAMBRIDGE, Md. -- Local leaders recently sent a letter of support to Maryland's Department of Natural Resources, asking the state agency to build a new fishing pier in Cambridge. It would replace the Bill Burton Fishing Pier, which has been closed to the public since 2022 due to safety concerns.
For the past three years, the pier has sat vacant, locked away behind a metal gate, much to the disappointment of Fifth Ward Commissioner Brian Roche.
"It was an incredible asset for the community and Dorchester and actually anyone coming through that could get out to the middle of the river and deep water fish," said Roche.
According to DNR, an underwater inspection in February 2022 found crumbling concrete in many areas of the structure below the water's surface. The agency immediately closed off access, citing that the defects could cause sudden failures and make the piers "unpredictable and unsafe."
DNR said it is committed to restoring and retaining access to the Choptank River. However, it looks unlikely that the current pier will ever fulfill that purpose again.
"It's far more expensive to try to repair it than to just demolish it and build it somewhere else," said Roche.
DNR tells WBOC it is currently working to find a firm to complete engineering and permitting work to demolish the old pier, and that construction of a new pier is still in the early planning stages.
Cambridge and Dorchester County officials and the Board of Directors of Cambridge Waterfront Development have settled on a location. They would like to relocate the pier to Sailwinds Park.
Roche said the new location would provide better access to parking and other amenities.