A newly renovated section of the Mission Beach seawall was officially opened with fanfare Thursday.
Over the last year, workers replaced the seawall between San Fernando Place and Ventura Place - four-tenths of a mile of oceanfront promenade south from Mission Boulevard, near Belmont Park.
The reconstruction project cost nearly $5 million and restored it to how the seawall looked when it was first constructed in the 1920's.
“I jog on the boardwalk here at least once a week,” Mayor Kevin Faulconer said. “It’s been great to see the progress.”
The project went over budget when the city learned the Boardwalk is a national "historical resource" that needed ultra-special, labor-intensive treatment to restore.
The fix includes 26 ornate lamps of the same make as the long-gone originals from 1925, from the same foundry in Springfield, Pennsylvania.
It's part of a long-term effort to improve the entire boardwalk and seawall along Mission Beach.
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"We're not stopping here," said Mission Beach Town Council president Fred May.
He said they'll be looking to other agencies for funding to complete the job.
“We’re going to claw our way to that funding to get the rest of the money so that we can do the seawall the entire length,” Councilmember Lori Zapf said.
