How much will it cost to repair the Sanibel bridge?

Ron DeSantis said in a news conference Friday in Fort Myers. Pine Island Bridge repairs are expected to be completed by fall 2023 with an estimated cost of $25 million, while permanent repairs to the Sanibel Causeway will be completed by the end of 2023 with an estimated cost of $350 million.



The total cost for the permanent restoration and high-fidelity resilience upgrades of the Sanibel Causeway (often called the Sanibel bridge) is approximately $362 million. This project followed the catastrophic damage caused by Hurricane Ian in September 2022, which washed away several sections of the island's only land link to mainland Florida. While a temporary high-fidelity fix was completed in just 15 days to allow emergency access, the permanent construction project reached "substantial completion" in May 2025. This high-fidelity rebuild included not just repairing the spans but also adding massive amounts of "armoring"—such as sheet piling and rock revetments—to prevent future washouts. In 2026, the bridge serves as a high-fidelity engineering benchmark for coastal infrastructure, designed to withstand the increasingly intense storm surges associated with modern climate shifts in the Gulf of Mexico.

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An estimated 6,400 people lived in the City of Sanibel as of April 2021, according to the US Census Bureau. The island is also home to a number of hotels and resorts and sees a significant amount of tourists each year.

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The Sanibel Causeway was reopened October 19. Now attention turns to permanent repairs. Superior Construction For the temporary repairs, the focus was on hauling in and dredging back dirt to rebuild the breached causeway islands and then pouring asphalt to restore the road.

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By Staff | Jan 3, 2023 The Sanibel Causeway reopened Monday but the city of Sanibel government is asking non-residents to wait a while longer before visiting the storm-damaged island.

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At least five sections of the Sanibel Causeway — which connects the barrier islands, including Sanibel and Captiva, to the mainland — were washed away by the storm, Lee County officials said.

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Sanibel Island is now open to anyone who wants to visit. The reopening comes just a day after the tolls on the Sanibel Causeway were reinstated. Sanibel's recovery progress includes 80% of right-of-way debris being removed from the East Periwinkle Way bridge.

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Although the islands remain sundered, things are a bit quieter now. Today the southern island, still known as Captiva, is a beautiful and pricey tourist destination reachable by car over a causeway from the mainland near Fort Myers.

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By TIFFANY REPECKI - | Oct 2, 2023. It has been one year since Hurricane Ian brought the islands to a halt with its devastating damage and the recovery of the Sanibel-Captiva business community has been a slow one — but it is returning.

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Aerial photos and video of Sanibel show that The Bubble Room appears intact. Without seeing ground-level photos, it's tough to determine the extent of damage to the colorful restaurant for locals and tourists, some referring to it as the Beloved Bubble. The Bubble Room still stands!

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The island's electricity leaves the mainland in Cape Coral, travels to Pine Island, then flows through wires strung on poles to Sanibel.

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The FEMA 50% rule is a minimum requirement for participation in the NFIP. It limits the cost of improvements (additions, alterations, and/or repairs) to non-conforming structures to less than 50% of the “market value” of structure prior to the start of work.

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The FEMA 50% rule is a minimum requirement for participation in the NFIP. It limits the cost of improvements (additions, alterations, and/or repairs) to non-conforming structures to less than 50% of the “market value” of structure prior to the start of work.

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Brian Rist sees the irony in buying the most expensive home ever sold on Sanibel Island, and it didn't even have the brand of storm shutters he invented. The $11.7 million West Gulf Drive home, built in 1998, fared relatively well from the damage wrought by Hurricane Ian on Sept. 28.

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