The failing pier at Mitchell Field may epitomize the “darned if you do, darned if you don’t” dilemma for town residents.

Built in 1954 by the U.S. Navy as part of its refueling facility, the massive docking station now is falling apart after almost 60 years of harsh Atlantic weather. Experts say that whether the town decides to rebuild or demolish the pier, the price tag of $4 million to $5 million will remain the same.

Divers from Baker Design Consultants, a Yarmouth-based marine engineering firm, examined the pier in December and found extensive erosion and structural failures.

One of its two outlying berths — called “dolphins” and used for securing large fuel tankers and transports to the pier — already has collapsed. Engineer Barney Baker expects the second inevitably to follow, although he said he couldn’t predict when.

Steel supports beneath a timber gangway — which is several hundred feet long — also have eroded to the point of being unsafe. Public access to the gangway was outlawed last year, and bridges to the both dolphins were removed.

The town has several options.

One is to completely rebuild the entire pier as it has stood since the days when huge Navy tankers and oilers tied up there to unload millions of gallons of fuel.

Or part of it could be saved, rebuilt or modified to serve as a partial dock with fingerfloats branching off each side for use by recreational vessels of varying size.

Finally, part — or all — of the pier could be removed and allowed to settle on the bottom of the bay as an artificial reef. Water is deep enough there — about 40 feet even at low tide — that the debris would not become a navigational hazard to boaters or fishermen.

But any demolition likely would trigger involvement by several state or national regulatory agencies, such as National Marine Fisheries, the state Department of Marine Resources, the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Additionally, permitting for destruction or rehabilitation would be expensive and could take as long as nine months to obtain.

Initial plans have been devised for an alltide, year-round commercial and personal watercraft facility. Some municipal funding already has been allocated for the project, but more is needed.

jtleonard@timesrecord.com

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