Juno Beach Pier stays closed with no reopening date as county waits for surf to calm before assessing damage

By Jupiter Tide Staff

Updated 5:30 p.m. Oct. 27 with comments from Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation on the damage and the repair process.

JUNO BEACH — The Juno Beach Pier will stay closed until further notice, and there is still no estimate for when it will reopen. Palm Beach County, which owns the pier, says it can't fully inspect the structure until the high surf dies down.

Both the county's pier page and Loggerhead Marinelife Center, which manages the pier, carry the same notice: "Due to damage from the recent offshore surge and high surf, the Juno Beach Pier is closed until further notice."

County Parks and Recreation Director Jennifer Cirillo told WFLX on Tuesday that the pier's wooden deck panels are built to pop out in heavy surf, which helps protect the rest of the structure from worse damage. But she said some of the railing also appears to have been damaged and would need repair.

Cirillo told the station that after high-surf events, county crews usually need a few days to recover loose panels and set them back in place. She said staff will do a full assessment once conditions calm, and the county won't know whether reopening will cost anything beyond staff time until then.

WPBF 25 News, which first reported the closure Monday night, said waves knocked loose deck panels in several places along the pier, and its video suggested more than a dozen were affected. Jupiter Tide has not independently confirmed how many panels were damaged.

The 990-foot pier at Juno Beach Park, 14775 U.S. Highway 1, was partway through a phased refurbishment. Loggerhead says that work began June 1 and was expected to take about six months, with sections closed one at a time so most of the pier could stay open. In its latest update, dated Sept. 29, the center said crews would return Oct. 5 to work between the pier house and the first shade structure.

Loggerhead has not said whether the storm damage will change that schedule.

Separately, the Town of Juno Beach closed four of its beach access points on Monday "due to unsafe conditions until further notice." Town Manager Kathleen Gunn said staff checked every town beach access between about 7:30 and 9 a.m. Monday, around high tide. The closed access points are:

The Town said staff will keep checking conditions as the weather and tides allow. The Town's map of its beach accesses is in its Discover Juno Beach brochure: https://www.juno-beach.fl.us/1257/Discover-Juno-Beach-Tour-MapBrochure

The National Weather Service in Miami reissued its coastal flood warning, high surf advisory and rip current statement for coastal Palm Beach County early Tuesday. All three run until 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28. Forecasters expect breaking waves of 8 to 13 feet, dangerous rip currents, significant coastal flooding around high tide and more beach erosion. A wind advisory with gusts up to 40 mph runs until 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The weather service says inexperienced swimmers should stay out of the water. It also says not to drive around barricades or through water of unknown depth. Tide times and safety tips are in our coastal flood warning story: https://www.jupitertide.com/p/jupiter-coastal-flood-warning-king-tides

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Jupiter Tide is a local news site covering Jupiter, Tequesta and Palm Beach Gardens: town news, public safety, schools, business and things to do. Follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram (@JupiterTideNews), and sign up for our free weekly newsletter, delivered every Thursday morning: jupitertide.com/subscribe