OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Two years after a fire shut down part of the Oceanside Pier, the popular coastal landmark remains partially closed, with no clear end date for repairs. The Oceanside Pier, one of the city’s most recognizable attractions, is about 90% reopened. But the section at the end of the pier remains off-limits, leaving visitors and locals disappointed as they wait for full access to return. “I think it’s an eyesore. It needs to be fixed,” said Jennifer Quinto, who commutes between Orange County and Carlsbad. Visitors say the closure has changed the experience of walking the pier. “Yeah. It seems like there’s kind of nothing on it, actually, which is a little bit bizarre for piers. I mean, it’s just seeing a lot of activity or people fishing or doing something off the end of it, but it’s kind of dead,” said Lauren Schubert and Jason Tan, who were visiting for a wedding. While most of the pier reopened just weeks after the fire, the missing access to the end continues to impact both tourism and daily life for locals. “Well, there’s a lot more traffic here. More visitors. They expect to see something nice. Not that,” Quinto said. For those who rely on the pier for fishing, the closure has made a noticeable difference. “The fishing has got so bad since it burned down because we’re not at the end. We’re being held off by the fence right here. So we’re not able to get to the deeper water. We even see sometimes the fish jumping and we’re just here waiting,” said Netyo Bartlett, who works on the pier. The city of Oceanside says it has selected a design consultant to develop construction documents for repairs. “We anticipate having that by the end of this year, helping us and allowing us to then go to construction. We’re hoping by the April of 2027,” said Luis Cardenas with the city of Oceanside. That means it could take about a year to finalize designs and for the city to begin the bidding process and move forward with construction. Some visitors say that timeline feels too long. “Considering that it’s already been two years, that seems excessive,” Schubert said. “Yeah. Like, why wasn’t that already in place? You know what I mean? Like what? What have you been doing the last two years? And you could have made the plans at least and be like, oh, yeah, we have a plan. We’re ready. You know,” Tan said. City officials say part of the delay involves obtaining regulatory permits to ensure construction is done safely and does not harm the surrounding environment or marine life. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less