CAMBRIDGE, Md. - State officials are moving forward with plans to demolish and replace the Bill Burton Fishing Pier, which has been closed since 2021 because of safety concerns.
Maryland’s proposed capital plan for fiscal year 2027 includes $6.6 million for the project. Officials say that money would cover early engineering work and initial steps toward demolishing the existing structure, which once carried traffic as part of Route 50.
Eric Luedtke, a capital project director with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, said the work is a two-part effort: removing the old pier and building a new one. He said most of the proposed funding is aimed at the demolition side, with a portion set aside to begin design and engineering on the replacement.
“Phase one is the design work, the engineering,” Luedtke said. “We are in the process of hiring an engineering firm who will do that design and also the design for the new pier.”
State officials have described the $6.6 million as a first step, with $5.6 million intended for demolition-related work and $1 million intended to start design for the new pier. Luedtke said the overall cost estimates are still preliminary and could change, but early projections put demolition at about $10 million and construction of the new pier at roughly twice that.
“We have very early numbers,” Luedtke said. “Construction estimation is as much art as science.”
A key change in the project is location. Luedtke said partners have agreed on a new site west of the Route 50 bridge, closer to downtown Cambridge. He said the goal is to make the replacement pier more accessible while aligning it with broader waterfront plans.
“The city and the county and DNR and Waterfront Development Corporation came together and all agreed on a new site,” Luedtke said, describing a location that would be easier for people in Cambridge to reach.
Cambridge Mayor Lajan Cephas-Bey said the pier is closely tied to the city’s image and waterfront identity, and she called the replacement effort an important step as Cambridge pushes forward with redevelopment around the harbor.
“When I say Cambridge, the first thing they think of is that fishing pier,” Cephas-Bey said. “That’s our identity.”
Both state and local officials emphasized that additional funding will be needed before the full scope of demolition and construction can move forward. Luedtke said the next major milestone is securing funding through the General Assembly process and then moving into procurement to select an engineering firm.
“We expect that to pass the General Assembly, but we’re not counting all our chickens yet,” Luedtke said.
He said it is too early to offer a firm completion timeline, and a clearer schedule is expected to develop after the design process advances and future funding is secured.