Two and a half years after Hurricane Ian dramatically impacted Florida, the Sanibel causeway is finally rebuilt.

Sanibel Causeway

Sanibel Causeway, which connects Sanibel Island to mainland Florida, has reopened following an extended reconstruction effort after significant damage from Hurricane Ian. The hurricane caused the causeway to collapse, leaving thousands stranded and severely impacting local tourism and commerce. The area typically welcomes between 150,000 to 200,000 tourists each year, underscoring the economic importance of the causeway.

Initial repairs were completed within several weeks to allow rescue crews access to the island. However, the full reopening of the causeway and its adjacent beaches occurred recently, marking the completion of the first phase of a multi-year recovery plan for the region. Reconstruction efforts included elevating the roadway by two feet, installing sheet pile walls, gabion baskets—wire structures filled with rocks also known as marine mattresses—and placing boulder riprap along the shoreline to improve future storm resiliency.

Officials from Sanibel have indicated that only about half of the area’s businesses, including restaurants, hotels, and condominiums, have resumed operations. The goal is to reach approximately 70% capacity in the near future. Local authorities continue to focus on recovery and strengthening the area’s infrastructure to better withstand future hurricanes.



Sanibel Causeway reopens after Ian damage

It's been two and a half years since Hurricane Ian slammed in the southwest Florida. Sanibel Island was one of the areas hit hard and is still rebuilding. Today, AccuWeather's Leslie Hudson joins us from Sanibel, Florida with more. Leslie, what can you tell us? Hey, Ari. Yeah, it's hard to believe that when you take a look at what's going on around me that Ian was almost three years ago. That'll be the anniversary at the end of September. Now, over my shoulder is that Sanibel Causeway. You may recall how this was one of the major headlines that came out of Ian because it completely collapsed, which landlocked and stranded thousands of people on the other side of that causeway. So a multi-year, multi-million dollar rebuild has been underway. And this area of Sanibel sees about 150,000 to 200,000 tourists every year. So it's a huge part of their commerce. As you take a look at some of the video from Ian, you can see that complete collapse. There were multiple fractures along the causeway, not just one. So it was a very long protracted event to rebuild this area. Now, the actual causeway itself was rebuilt in about four weeks to at least get some of the rescue crews over there. But it wasn't until just about 10 days ago that this entire causeway opened up and the beaches that line either side that straddle here, the Bay and the Gulf, were fully functional. And that's only phase one here in this multi-year project that they're trying to get Sanibel Mkativa back up and running. A lot of folks tend to forget about these storms, but Ian really put a huge dent in the commerce here. And we talked to the city of Sanibel mayor yesterday, and he told us some of the resiliency efforts that they have done to try and avoid this type of disaster again. They elevated the roadway by two feet. They protected the shoreline by putting in sheet pile walls, by putting in what's called gabion baskets, which are also called marine mattresses, just wire structures filled with rocks, and then boulders riprap on the outside of the shoreline, all to maintain greater resiliency on the part of the causeway. Hasn't been tested yet, but we think it will be much better than it was. So to give you some perspective, they're only about 50% up and running, all of the restaurants and the hotels and the condos in this area. Their goal is to get at 70% capacity by the end of this year. So it has been a slow build here. A lot of folks left the area. Many, of course, stayed because this is a very sleepy part of Florida that is very popular. But we'll be talking to other folks here that have come up with some innovative ways to try and rebuild among all of this destruction. Reporting live from Sanibel Island, Florida, I'm Leslie Hudson. Back to you. Leslie, we appreciate the report.

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