Santa Cruz celebrates the reopening of wharf following 2024 damage

Added: 2026-04-30

[00:00:00]We begin with a major milestone today in Santa Cruz.

[00:00:03]>> That's right. The community is celebrating the completion of repairs to the iconic Wharf. Now, back in 2024, a big chunk of the structure actually fell into the water during a powerful winter storm. Now, the Wharf is fully repaired and in better shape than ever. We are here to celebrate the reopening of the south end of the Wharf.

[00:00:27]When the boardwalk fell in 2024, it's interesting and it's really a great reflection of the community that it was never a question of if it was going to be rebuilt. It's a question about when.

[00:00:37]And it's really a testament to the hard work and the dedication of the Wharf businesses and the Wharf crew who started work that very day.

[00:00:44]Here's a live look from the Santa Cruz Wharf right now. Our John Ramos spoke to community members about why upgrades to the famous landmark have them hopeful for the future.

[00:00:54]It's been a year and a half since a huge storm tore off a huge chunk of the Santa Cruz Wharf. And now a new end may be signaling a new beginning.

[00:01:07]Bob and Bonnie Peterson came out to see the new end of their Wharf. They live within sight of it and remember what happened on December 23rd of 2024.

[00:01:17]Yeah, we came out here when it was all down in the water.

[00:01:21]And uh you know, quite a big mess. Huge waves hitting the structure from the side tore off a 180-ft section of the Wharf throwing buildings and heavy equipment into the sea. Miraculously, no one was injured, but for the last 16 months, the Wharf has ended at a chain-link fence.

[00:01:40]Until today, when the city officially proclaimed the structure to be fully open. It is 180-ft shorter than the original pre-collapse layout, but now what we're thinking is we're really in love with what we have now. It's a special space, super strong, can handle any kind of seasonal weather that comes at it, all the waves, swells, and everything else. It helps build back the economic for the end of Wharf here. The new section has been fortified with so-called batter piles driven at an angle to give more strength against sideways pressure known as shear. A viewing hole has been reopened so visitors can watch the mob of sea lions that hang out on the structure below.

[00:02:17]And there are plans in the works to bolster the east side parking lot and add a new landing for research vessels, all of which should make the entire structure more stable. Jose Espinoza works at the restaurant and fish market at the end of the Wharf. Sometimes you'll feel you'll be standing here and you'll feel the the waves just crashing under the pillars and just whoa.

[00:02:37]Yeah, it's like you're on the boat sometimes. But as happy as they are to have the work completed, Bob and Bonnie understand that regardless of what man does, the ocean is really in charge here. I think we the thing is we regularly have, you know, very um powerful storms cuz we're just right here, you know, the and the storms come across the Pacific and they just hit us right here. The ocean is unmerciful when it comes to the little things that we like to stick out into it and call our own. I think at least for people who are experienced, you know, they know that this is all temporary.

[00:03:16]Enjoy it while you can.

[00:03:18]It was once the longest wooden Wharf on the West Coast. It's shorter now, and while it may not last forever, the Santa Cruz Wharf is better prepared to deal with whatever Mother Nature decides to throw at it in the future.

[00:03:33]Taking another live look from Santa Cruz, the Wharf was built in 1914 as a way to ship potatoes into San Francisco.

[00:03:40]And over the years, it became a tourist destination and a place to do a little work out as you see there. Now, the Wharf welcomes an estimated 1.5 million visitors each year.