On Thursday, the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) will begin working to remove the remnants of a concrete pier on the southeast shoreline of Maury Island. Now included in the Maury Island Natural Area, the pier was once part of the Glacier gravel mine site.

The project is slated to take about 15 days, during which time the 57- by 25-foot section of concrete as well as any material that may have been placed inside the covered portion of the old pier will be excavated and hauled away.

County officials say that approximately 111 cubic yards of concrete will be removed and taken to an off-island concrete recycling facility. Potentially, 128 cubic yards of fill will also be taken; however, if the material within the pier is native to the beach, then it will not be removed.

The DNRP’s goal is to restore natural beach-forming processes and improve the nearshore habitat of the area.

Structures like piers can alter the physical characteristics of the nearshore, by changing processes such as sediment transport, wave energy and light penetration — all of which have an impact on plant and animal life such as eel grass and forage fish, both critical components of our local ecosystem and marine life food chain.

Officials say the removal of the pier should help restore natural beach-forming processes to a 60- by 25-foot area of the shore.

Work will take place from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, from Thursday, Sept. 3 through Friday, Sept. 18.