The future of a 500-foot-long ocean pier in Monmouth County built in the shape of a Christian cross remains in limbo, nearly two years after concerns were raised about its structural integrity.
Approximately half of the pier — the extension over the ocean — has been closed since December 2023 and will remain off-limits “for the foreseeable future,” the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association announced Monday.
The association owns all of the land in a small section of Neptune and opened the $2 million pier in April 2023, replacing the structure that was destroyed 11 years earlier during Hurricane Sandy.
Unlike its predecessor, though, the pier was constructed in the shape of a cross, in a nod to the area’s history as a Methodist retreat — a decision that drew both praise and criticism.
The pier opened in April 2023 but fully closed eight months later after three of the 88 newly-installed pilings were broken by waves, officials said.
In April 2024, the first 243 feet of the pier reopened to the public while an engineering firm continued to evaluate the extension.
“After many months of detailed investigation and analysis, we are in receipt of our engineer’s report on the structural sufficiency of the pier addition,” the camp meeting association said in an update on its website. “Regrettably, we have been advised by our engineers that the pier extension may not be structurally sound enough to be used safely,”
The association did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Neptune Mayor Robert Lane Jr. told NJ Advance Media that “all planning, design, and construction decisions” fall under the purview of the association, which owns the pier and paid for its construction.
“While the township is not involved in this project, our top priority remains the safety and well-being of our residents,” Lane told NJ Advance Media on Tuesday. “We continue to monitor all developments within the township and expect that any structures built, regardless of ownership, meet all applicable safety standards and regulations,”
The update on the pier comes as Ocean Grove awaits a decision on a long-running battle over barring Sunday morning beach access from its boardwalk during the summer.
New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection ordered an end to the religious-based tradition, which had endured for 155 years, in 2024, and the association removed the barriers.
However, an administrative law judge ruled June 26 that the association was within its rights to restrict beach access from its boardwalk.
The state environmental commissioner has until Nov. 10 to uphold, reject or modify the judge’s ruling — though declining to accept it could prompt another legal challenge from the camp meeting association.
The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association leases land in the neighborhood on a long-term basis to homeowners and businesses. It also sells leases for 114 tents and 20 cottages for use during the summer season.
Ocean Grove was governed by the association as a religious enclave for a century, until the New Jersey Supreme Court declared its original charter unconstitutional.