Culture and Society
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The longest pier on the planet extends for an incredible 8,018.98 meters (26,309 feet) into the sea. First constructed more than 80 years ago, the insanely long jetty now acts as a major docking point for cargo ships and cruise liners alike.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.Located in the port city of Progreso in Mexico’s Yucatán state, the pier was crowned the longest in the world by Guinness World Records in July 2023.
Stretching northwards into the Gulf of Mexico, Progreso pier was originally conceived in the 1930s when the federal government began accepting bids from construction firms around the world to build an enormous jetty on Yucatán’s northern coast. Among the authorities’ main criteria was that the structure be built using materials that would resist corrosion and require little to no maintenance for many years.
The contract was eventually won by Danish firm Christiani and Nielsen, and construction began in 1937. To meet the Mexican government’s wishes, the company avoided the use of primarily steel, instead building the pier out of reinforced concrete.
By 1941, the earliest iteration of the jetty had been completed and opened for use. Extending for almost 2 kilometers (1.2 miles), the pier culminated in a large platform that housed a three-story customs building, where goods entering and leaving Mexico could be processed.
It wasn’t until the second half of the 1980s that Progreso pier was finally extended to its current length. These days, the 8-kilometer (5-mile) long jetty receives hundreds of thousands of tourists a year, acting as a jumping off point for cruise passengers to explore some of the Yucatán’s iconic Maya sites, including the world-famous Chichén Itzá.
First, though, all arrivals must be driven along the length of the pier until they finally reach the shoreline – a journey that takes around 10 minutes by shuttle bus.
Incredibly, the original 2-kilometer stretch that was built way back in the 1930s is still standing and has never needed to be significantly replaced or repaired. Props to Christiani and Nielsen, then – they certainly fulfilled their remit!
