Beaufort looks to reconnect the river with its best-known park. Here’s the $299K plan
The city of Beaufort plans to modify the gangway to its popular day dock in order to reopen Waterfront Park from the Beaufort River, where access has been blocked for almost a year.
The City Council was scheduled to vote Tuesday evening on hiring O’Quinn Marine Construction, Inc. to do the work.
O’Quinn’s objective is providing access to Waterfront Park from the Beaufort River via the city day dock prior to the 10-day Water Festival, the city’s largest event, and the high tourism season. The Water Festival begins July 17.
Access to the free public dock on the Beaufort River in the heart of the city was lost when the Waterfront Park promenade was closed last July for safety reasons because the pilings holding up the support platform below it are wearing out.
The promenade is a 1,200-foot-long, 35-to-40-foot-wide elevated brick walkway stretching from the marina to the Woods Memorial Bridge. It serves as the primary, high-profile waterfront pedestrian area, though it represents only a portion of the total 7-acre park, which remains open.
There is nothing wrong with the “day dock” but you can’t reach it without walking across the condemned relieving platform underneath the promenade so it was closed, too, when a fence went up blocking access to the walkway. Loss of the dock was a blow to boaters and downtown business owners.
City staff recommended that the city sign a $299,000 contract with O’Quinn, the low bidder, to build a two-gangway structure that will allow people to walk over the promenade to reach the dock. The City Council was expected to vote on the contract. April 14.
The objective
One aluminum gangway will span 45 feet over closed promenade and failing relieving platform below it and connect onto a newly installed, pile-supported platform. That platform will be independent of the existing “relieving platform” under the promenade, which can’t stand any additional weight.
Then another 75-foot-long aluminum gangway will span from the newly installed platform to the dock.
“This will ‘reopen’ the Waterfront Park to citizens and tourists from the Beaufort River and connect our number one recreation with our number one park,” O’Quinn wrote in its executive summary in its bid.
The existing 80-foot-long gangway could not be used in the reconfigured dock because 5 feet would have needed to be trimmed due to the way the truss is designed, Bill Barna of McSweeney Engineering said. As a result, a second gangway had to be purchased increasing the cost by $75,000.
The city, whose original budget for the work was $250,000, sought requests for proposals to modify the dock in March.
Besides the modifications, bidders were required to offer a credit equal to the value of the existing gangway to be removed and take ownership of it, with the city having the option of accepting or rejecting the credit and retaining ownership.
City received two bids
The city received two bids.
Charleston-based Cape Romain’s bid was $335,384, which was lowered to $322, 884 with a $12,500 credit for the gangway.
Beaufort-based O’Quinn’s bid was $306,775 or $299,275 with a $7,500 gangway credit.
A city selection committee, made up of three members of the city staff, was unanimous that O’Quinn should get the bid but doesn’t think the city should accept the $7,500 offer for the gangway. It was the consensus of the committee was $7,500 was significantly below the market value.
The work must be completed by July 1, according to the contract.
Another project
The city is about to begin another project tied to the closed promenade.
City Manager Scott Marshall said residents likely will see activity related to replacing the chain-link fencing around the promenade this week. The chain-link fence will be replaced with a commercial grade, 4-ft. high aluminum fencing that is black, Marshall says. The new fencing is expected to arrive this week, Marshall said, with installation beginning next week. The cost is $27,660.
Marshall said the new fencing will be up by May 1. The old fencing must be removed while the new fencing is installed because no people can be allowed to walk on the promenade for safety reasons.
The chain-link fence is being replaced after the city received complaints about how it looks.
This story was originally published April 12, 2026 at 11:14 AM.
