Crews working to complete Galveston's Pleasure Pier by early summer

GALVESTON, TX (KTRK) -- Crews have been hard at work to complete the Pleasure Pier on Galveston by early summer. When finished, the renovated pier will feature rides, games, restaurants and more -- all aimed at encouraging tourism on the island.

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The amusement park is well on its way to completion. It looks a lot different than it did even last week, and whether you're thinking about working there or playing there, this is one project that promises to make a lot of folks very happy.

"This is a long time coming. We've been waiting for something like this and it looks so fantabulous to me. I like it," said Phyllis Glenn, who was visiting from Houston.

The world-class amusement park with 16 rides, and restaurants and retail is on track to debut at the start of summer -- the height of Galveston's tourism season.

"It's bringing people here, it's providing something new for them to do, and of course while they're here, they'll explore everything else there is to do on the island," said Leah Cast with the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Project managers are busy marketing the latest Landry's darling across the country, and travel writers as far as Chicago are talking about the 1,100 foot action-packed pier, re-invented, after Galveston was crippled by Hurricane Ike in 2008.

"They're not gonna stop right there. They're gonna keep going and going, and that's a good thing," said .

The pier plans to provide work to some 800 people, and 400 jobs are still up for grabs.

"Ride operators, servers, maintenance workers. We need some talented mechanics, food and beverage, games, retail, grounds, you name it. There's still openings in every department," said Mark Kane, Regional Director of Landry's Theme Parks.

That's good news for locals, and even better for an island coming back to life.

"There's nothing like this in the south and I think people are excited nation wide about the developments happening here on the island," said

If you're looking for work, a job fair is being held this Saturday, April 28 from 9am-2pm at the San Luis Hotel on the lower level. They're looking for 400 employees.

There's still a lot of work to do. There are 200 workers making this project come to fruition right now. Developers tell us the project is on target for an early summer opening, though they don't have a finalized date set.

Here's a breakdown of what it will cost to visit the pleasure pier once it's opened. If you don't want to ride the rides, entry to the pier will be $10 for adults and $8 for children. For all-day access to rides, you can buy a wristband at $26.99 for adults, and $21.99 for kids under 48 inches tall. There are also family packages available, including a Family of 4 package for $89.99 which includes all rides for two adults and two children.

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