The St. Pete Pier is temporarily closing on Monday and Tuesday morning as adjustments are made to Janet Echelman’s “Bending Arc” installation, which has been at the pier since its opening. The pier will be closed from 4 a.m. to noon on both weekdays.
The adjustments are focused on the current temporary anchoring system, which will be replaced with permanent cables. The closure is for safety reasons, as the area directly beneath the sculpture will be unsafe while being worked on.
The securement of the installation may arrive amid a hurricane. Soon to be Tropical Storm Laura is forecast to upgrade to hurricane status while heading toward Florida, likely reaching the state Monday, according to an 11 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
This is also not the first time the structure needed additional edits. After the aerial sculpture was put in the St. Pete Pier District in January, it was removed for “adjustments,” as reported by the Tampa Bay Times.
Echelman’s contract with St. Petersburg for her work was worth $1.47 million, according to the Times.
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