Repairs to the state infrastructure have been well under way since the damage caused by Hurricane Ian. Now, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has announced the completion of repairs to the Sanibel Causeway are complete and one week ahead of schedule.
It only took 15 days for recovery efforts to reinvigorate a fully functional Sanibel Causeway, a project that was initially predicted to take over three weeks.
"The work that has been done to restore vehicle access to Sanibel Island has been historic,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. "Cutting through bureaucratic red tape and delivering on our promise to get Sanibel Island up and running has been a top priority. By restoring access over the causeway, repair crews, first responders, emergency vehicles, business owners and residents will be better able to expedite recovery from this storm."
On October 4, Governor DeSantis directed FDOT to prioritize repairs to the Sanibel Causeway with an estimated completion date by the end of October. On October 11, the Governor announced that due to steady progress on repairs to the causeway, a one-time convoy of more than 350 vehicles for utility restoration would be able to safely cross the bridge onto Sanibel Island.
The bridge that stands at three miles long was damaged so thoroughly by the hurricane that the Sanibel Island community experienced slower recovery efforts with goods being provided to the area.
The speedy bridge recovery is not the only good news for the coastal Florida community. This week Governor DeSantis hand-delivered $1,000 bonus checks to first responders in Sanibel Island. There are set to be 400 more checks to be distributed throughout South Florida.
