The project will involve replacing pieces of the 120-year-old timber at Swanage Pier.
The Swanage Pier Trust, which owns and operates the pier, said a new visitor centre also featured in the plans.
The trust has been allocated £893,800 in Heritage Lottery Funding for the project. It has until November to raise the remaining £900,000.
According to the trust, the Victorian pier - which is one of only 14 remaining timber piers in the country - attracts about 125,000 people each year.
Members of the public have been asked to share their views on the plans, which are on display at the Pierhead Watersports building on Swanage Pier until 8 April.
Plans for a £1.7m revamp of a Grade II listed pier in Dorset have gone on display.