FORT MYERS BEACH, FLA — Thursday morning we are following more of the progress being made on Fort Myers Beach since Hurricane Ian roughly 9 months later.
There are crews all over the island who are trying to bring back as much of it as possible.
From homes to hotels to condos, restaurants, and a look at the entire process of trying to get docks back into place.
We're talking about crews that we've been able to shadow in some sense to see how they are removing boats from the mangroves and now rebuilding massive docks on Fort Myers Beach.
You can't miss seeing the 150-foot barge out on Fort Myers Beach that is helping to get work done even faster as it has a massive roughly 200-ton crane on top of it.
"Been an absolutely amazing tool for us I mean it’s a 150-foot barge that we’ve got roughly a 200-ton crane packaged on top. We’re using that to do everything from recovering vessels for the state of Florida all the way to rebuilding what you see behind us," says Tyler Marks.
Much of the area is still a construction zone roughly 9 months after Hurricane Ian.
The crews putting together a massive dock across from Pink Shell Resort are with RJ Gorman Marine Construction as their Executive Director Vice President of Operations Tyler Marks explains to us the process here regarding getting new docks installed.
"We’re in the middle of the rebuilding of Pink Shell Resort Marina that was destroyed by Hurricane Ian. We’ve been installing aluminum floating docks that are actually made here in Fort Myers so it’s pretty cool to see a local dock manufacturer selling their local docks and having them put in after the storm as far as I know this is the first full marina rebuild that’s happened post-Ian actually on the beach," says Tyler Marks.
I'm told some of the most difficult parts are being able to precisely lift the dock sections and the pilings. Work is almost never-ending on Fort Myers Beach - the crews hope to get the large dock ready by the end of this week.
Of course, they are also dealing with our rainy season as they are trying to get this all done as soon as possible.
Marks there went on to say how much pride they have in the work they do to see what a disaster this area has been and being able to make history with these rebuilds.
"I think it’s awesome I take a lot of pride in the work we do the disaster work is one element of it but really the rebuilding is what we’re here for what I really enjoy most about this job," says Marks.
