pierlessadj.

1835 G. Darley Nepenthe ii. 38 Passing thy pierless bridges swung Gorge over, darkening every dell, With keystone rocks colossal hung.

1859 F. Wharton Treat. Theism 249 He forgot that to raise a pierless bridge that was to be eternal, its support must be derived from on high.

1979 L. M. Roth Conc. Hist. Amer. Archit. vii. 245 William Van Allen's Chrysler Building, New York..whose pierless corners reflect the cantilevers of the International Style.

1997 Engin. News-Record (Nexis) 20 Oct. 10 This particular bridge ‘is rather short,’ he says, compared to the pierless lengths of up to 230 ft that Mabey has constructed.

1856 H. Cockburn Memorials of his Time vi. 323 Nothing but wretched pierless ferries, let to poor cottars, who rowed or hauled or pushed a crazy boat across, or more commonly got their wives to do it.

1893 Daily News 23 May 2/3 Dover..the chief of the Cinque Ports has hitherto remained in the ordinary sense pierless.

1975 Times 4 Jan. 12/5 Most other resorts whose piers are falling into disrepair would become pierless.

1992 Los Angeles Times (Nexis) 16 July 8 This weekend's festivities, which mark the opening, after four pierless years, of the city's new $10.8-million centerpiece [sc. a pier].