Lake Worth Pier opens

LAKE WORTH, FL--After years of repairs, the Lake Worth Pier rises again.

An estimated eight hundred people packed the William O. Lockhart Pier at Lake Worth beach Saturday for the grand opening of the city's landmark. The pier had to close five years ago because of hurricane damage. But after years of not giving up, city leaders finally convinced Fema to rebuild it.

"It's been tough looking at this for the past five years and wondering if fema would give us the money," Lake Worth Mayor Jeff Clemens said. "The crowd is proof positive that this is all worth it."

To reduce the risk of future wave damage, the eastern portion of the 960 foot fishing pier is built five feet higher than the old pier. Fema paid 90 percent of the 3.4 million reconstruction cost.