SANIBEL, Fla. — Nearly 10 months after Hurricane Ian, workers have made a lot of progress on the Sanibel Causeway; however, they cannot work underwater right now.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) says it's waiting on a permit to be approved by the Army Corps of Engineers. If they don't get the permit soon, FDOT said the full reopening could be delayed. It's scheduled to open by the end of 2023.
"We really anticipated having it by now," said Jennifer Dorning with FDOT. "We are hoping that we get it any day or else our roadway completion date of this year will probably have to be pushed."
She tells Fox 4 the application for the permit was received on February 21, 2023.
The permit is extremely vital because 80% of the sheet pile to reinforce the Causeway will go underwater. Dorning said they had to stop work underwater because the old permit was approved as an emergency right after Ian.
"Once we get that federal core permit, we’ll be able to move back out into the water and do a lot of the work," Dorning said.
We reached out to the Corps and asked what's causing the delay. A spokesperson said the application is being processed by FDOT in Panama City, though the Corps has a permitting office in Fort Myers
"In any event, they are in the final stages of their review; specifically, coordinating with FDOT agents regarding the proposed Permitee Responsible Mitigation Plan," the spokesperson said in a statement.
In the meantime, FDOT continues to work above ground. Starting this week, more supplies will be delivered. Dorning says they expect about 30 trucks a day for the next year.
They're also going to start temporary roads.
"So the contractor will be shifting traffic on a temporary road — shifted over on the Causeway islands and that way they will be able to build the road that will remain two feet higher," Dorning said. "The entire goal of this though is to maintain critical access."
FDOT says it will likely do lane closures at night, though you could see some traffic during the day.
"It’s going to put us in a good position for future storms we have," Dorning said. We are building this back to make sure that Sanibel can have its umbilical cord connected to the mainland if this happened again."
There is a hefty price tag with rebuilding the Causeway.
Dorning said the total cost fluctuates around $285 million paid by the state. The Federal Highway Administration will reimburse about $239 million, though that can take up to four years.
The remaining amount, $46.1 million, will need to come from either Lee County or the state. This doesn't include the $5.6 million in parks Lee County is using along the Causeway.
At the moment, the repairs on the Causeway are expected to be done by the end of 2023.
