The Coupeville town deck is closing to the public for the foreseeable future after a structural engineer deemed it unsafe.

The engineer found hardware all over the deck to be in poor condition, according to an email Mayor Molly Hughes wrote to several town employees. The town deck refers to the deck next to the Little Red Hen Bakery off the boardwalk on Front Street.

“We are working with the engineer now to see if a permanent fix can be made or if we need to consider a temporary fix and then work on a long term plan,” she wrote.

Town officials are working to provide safe access to the Little Red Hen Bakery, the entrance to which is located on the deck. Residents and visitors can still access the beach at the wharf or the boat launch.

The closure comes just before the weekend of the Coupeville Arts and Crafts Festival, during which visitors will be flooding Front Street where the deck is located.

Public restrooms in the Chamber of Commerce will also be closed prior to the festival weekend for maintenance problems. Public restrooms and porta-potties will still be available at other locations, such as the Coupeville Town Park and Lions Park during the festival.

Correction: A previous version of this story mistakenly reported that an engineer found hardware on the boardwalk to be in poor condition. The engineer only made this determination about hardware on the deck, not the boardwalk. We regret the error.