LAKE WORTH, Fla -- The Lake Worth pier closed Friday at 1pm and will remain closed until further notice, due to significant wave heights that have been forecast this weekend.

John Rene, head of the city's public services department told CBS12 reporter Al Pefley they don't want to risk losing any of the removable planks on the pier. The 990 foot long pier has wooden planks that are designed to pop out if the waves get too high.  So workers removed some of the planks before Isaac arrives, so the water can crash through if necessary.

Rene says they're expecting 11-14 foot waves, possibly as high as 17 feet, with 5 foot swells. If they did not remove the planks from the pier and left them in place, some of them could pop out and wash away. The old Lake Worth pier was damaged in one of the hurricanes a few years ago, and the city rebuilt it at a cost of about $3 million dollars. Construction started in 2008.

It was completed in 2010. While the pier is closed, the beach is open. Depending on how much we are impacted by Isaac, officials hope to reopen the pier Monday or Tuesday.With Isaac on the way Lake Worth is not taking any chances