Sanibel Causeway - History

History

The Sanibel Causeway originally opened for traffic on May 26, 1963, replacing a ferry boat service that ran from Punta Rassa to Sanibel since 1912. Construction on the entire causeway, and the three original bridges lasted 15 months and cost $2.73 million. It was the last major project designed by Hector F.J. Estrup, Civil Engineer, owner of Caribbean Engineers. Sanibel Island experienced major growth in the early 1970s due to the causeway. This led to Sanibel's incorporation into Lee County's third city, which took place on November 5, 1974. Former CIA director Porter Goss served as Sanibel's first mayor.

In 1990, Lee County proposed the idea of replacing the original three-bridge causeway with a single four-lane high span bridge due to the age of the bridges. Many Sanibel residents opposed the idea in a referendum and it was later abandoned. Lee County made major repairs to the bridges in 1991 when they began to show signs of corrosion from the salt water. The deterioration continued and more repairs were made in 1997. In the early 2000s (decade), The bridges continued to show signs of rapid deterioration from overall lack of maintenance and salt water corrosion, and in 2001, Lee County made plans to replace Bridges B and C, and refurbish Bridge A (the drawbridge).

On January 6, 2003, during a routine inspection, severe cracks were discovered underneath a 48-foot (15 m) deck section on Bridge B. After this discovery, all three of the bridges were very closely monitored, and the damaged section was braced with additional steel pilings. Bridge B's speed limit was temporarily lowered to 10 miles per hour (16 km/h), and the rest of the causeway's speed limit was lowered to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h). A temporary 10-ton weight limit was put in place. Lee County determined that the 48-foot (15 m) deck section needed to be completely replaced as soon as possible. The county then made plans to close the causeway for an entire day in order to replace the section. Islanders prepared accordingly, and the causeway was shut down all day on January 20, 2003. The deck section was replaced with a steel grate section, since concrete would take a week to complete. The replacement was completed quickly, and the causeway re-opened ahead of schedule. After this turn of events, Lee County reexamined it original plan for rehabilitating Bridge A (the drawbridge), and concluded that all three of the bridges needed to be replaced.

On August 13, 2004, the area was struck by Hurricane Charley, a Category 4 hurricane. The causeway received only minor damage and was very carefully inspected before Sanibel residents were permitted to return to the island.

Construction of the current bridges commenced in August 2004. The three dollar toll was increased to six dollars in November 2004 in order to finance construction. Construction on the current spans lasted three years, and cost $137 million. An official grand-opening ceremony for the current bridges was held on September 8, 2007, which was the day the current Bridge C opened (even though the current Bridges A and B opened prior to September 8).

The original bridges were later demolished, and their remains were sunk into the water to create a number of artificial reefs in the San Carlos Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.