While they’re predominantly associated with leisure nowadays, piers have a long history of other uses too.
This long raised deck typically bridges the shore or promenade and heads out to see, where eventually it comes to an end. These sturdy platforms – now revered in the UK seaside scene and used to house chip shops, bingo halls, amusement arcades, and even nightclubs – stick out into the sea for a reason.
And that reason isn’t just romantic walks and for fishing.
Rather, piers were traditionally used for for the mooring or docking of boats. Where a town or city didn’t have a purpose-built dock, ships and boats couldn’t come to the shore for risk of becoming stuck in shallow waters. Instead, piers allowed the boat to dock and be loaded and unloaded, with the fisherman and dock staff walking the pier’s decks for an easy and direct route back to the mainland.
Some piers across the world are still used for this very purpose.
Many of the piers still standing across the world are hundreds of years old, and piers tend to range in length from a few meters to a kilometer long.
However, one pier stands out among all others.
The Pier of Progreso, a port city in Yucatán, Mexico is, according to the Guinness World Records, the longest pier in the world. At over eight kilometers long, this pier has been standing since the early 1940s, with its construction taking around three years.
As well as its length, it differs from many other piers as it is built from reinforced concrete. Rather than the steel and wood that comprise most piers, the concrete was chosen for its hardiness, ensuring that it would need very little maintenance.
When it was first built though, this pier was a mere two kilometers long. Intended for the loading, unloading, and processing of goods in and out of Mexico, the pier sat at its original length for around 40 years.
However, the priorities of the Progreso pier changed in the 1980s when it was extended by six kilometers. Stretching much further out into the ocean’s depths, this pier is now capable of docking cruise ships to allow its passengers entry into Mexico.
While the length of this pier is very impressive, it’s probably not one for a romantic stroll – unless you have almost three hours to spare for the round trip that is.
Probably better to stick to a movie for your first date instead.
If you think that’s impressive, check out this story about a “goldmine” of lithium that was found in the U.S. that could completely change the EV battery game.
