Sanibel Causeway

Sanibel Causeway
Bridge B as seen from the top of Bridge A.
Coordinates	26°28′35″N / 82°01′32″W
Carries	Causeway Boulevard
Crosses	San Carlos Bay
Locale	Sanibel, Florida
Official name	Sanibel Causeway
Maintained by	Lee County Department of Transportation
Characteristics
Design	Concrete Girder Bridge
Total length	3 Miles
Width	40 Feet
Load limit	24 Tons
Clearance above	70 Feet (Bridge A) 26 Feet (Bridge C)
History
Opened	May 26, 1963
Statistics
Toll	$6
Location

The Sanibel Causeway (also locally known as the Sanibel Bridge) is a causeway in Southwest Florida that spans the San Carlos Bay, connecting Sanibel Island with the Florida mainland in South Fort Myers. The entire causeway is roughly three miles long from end to end. The causeway consists of three separate two-lane bridge spans, which are each identified as Bridges "A", "B", and "C". Two man-made causeway islands exist between each of the three bridges. The entire causeway facility is owned and operated by the Lee County Department of Transportation.

There is a six dollar toll in effect for island-bound vehicles only. There is no additional toll for vehicles exiting the island. The toll facility accepts Florida's statewide "SunPass" prepaid electronic toll collection system, along with Lee County's "Leeway" prepaid toll system, which is also used on the Cape Coral Bridge and the Midpoint Memorial Bridge.

The Sanibel Causeway originally opened for traffic on May 26, 1963, replacing a ferry boat that had run 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. The causeway caused the island to experience major growth in the early 1970's. Due to the island's increased population, Sanibel incorporated into Lee County's third city on November 5, 1974, with former CIA director Porter Goss as Sanibel's first mayor. In 1990, Lee County proposed the idea of replacing the three-bridge causeway with a single four-lane high span bridge. The residents of Sanibel opposed the idea and it was later abandoned. In 1991, the original bridges showed signs of deterioration, and Lee County made major repairs. Major repairs were made again in 1997. The bridges continued to show deterioration in the early 2000's, and in 2001, Lee County made plans to replace Bridges B and C, and rehabilitate Bridge A (the drawbridge).

On January 6, 2003, severe cracks were discovered underneath a 48-foot deck section on Bridge B during a routine inspection. After this discovery, all three of the bridges were very closely monitered, the damaged section was braced with additional steel pilings. Bridge B's speed limit was temporarily lowered to 10 miles per hour, and the rest of the causeway's speed limit was lowered to 20 miles per hour. Also, a temporary 10-ton weight limit was put in place. Lee County determined that the 48-foot deck section needed to be completely replaced immmediately. The county made plans to close the causeway for an entire day in order to execute the replacement. This meant that Sanibel residents and business-owners would be completely cut off from the mainland for the day, and extensive preparations were made. The causeway was shut-down all day on January 20 (Martin Luther King Day), 2003. This holiday was chosen since schools and government offices would be closed that day. The section of the bridge 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 scrapped it original plan for rehabilitating Bridge A (the drawbridge), and decided that all three of the bridges needed to be replaced. [1]

In 2004, the causeway received only minor damage from Hurricane Charley when struck the area. The causeway was very carefully inspected before Sanibel residents were permitted to return to the island.

Construction of the current bridges commenced in August of 2004. The three dollar toll was increased to six dollars in November of 2004 in order to finance construction. Construction on the current spans lasted three years, and cost $137 million. The current bridges each opened on separate dates, and a grand-opening ceremony was held after the opening of the final bridge on September 8, 2007. During construction of Bridge A, one worker, Kent Crappell, was killed when a piling he was driving into place crumbled and collapsed. He immediately moved the crane so the piling would fall away from other workers and the existing bridge. The weight of the piling subsequently tipped over and crushed the cab of the crane, killing Crappell. Had Crappell not acted immediately, the piling would have fallen onto traffic on the existing bridge. He was later honored for his heroic sacrifice. [2]

Bridge A

Bridge A is the bridge closest to the mainland in South Fort Myers. Bridge A is a 70-foot fixed span bridge, and is the tallest bridge in Lee County. The bridge previously holding this record was the nearby Matanzas Pass Bridge, which is 65 feet tall. The original Bridge A was a 26-foot high drawbridge. Plans for constructing a high-span bridge to replace the drawbridge had been talked about since 1985, but were not made official until 2003, when Lee County concluded that the drawbridge (as well as the other two bridges) needed to be replaced. Sanibel (who does not own the Causeway) was opposed to the construction of the high-span, and wanted Lee County to either refurbish the drawbridge or replace it with another drawbridge. Shortly before construction was set to begin, the City of Sanibel filed a lawsuit against the Lee County in an attempt to stop construction. Sanibel claimed that Lee County did not maintain the bridges properly, and used the toll revenue for other road projects. Lee County then filed a counter lawsuit, claiming Sanibel was interfering with construction. A second lawsuit was filed against Lee County by a group of Sanibel residents who created a non-profit organization called "Save Our Bay, Inc." All of the lawsuits delayed construction, and were eventually dismissed. The current Bridge A finally opened for traffic on June 28, 2007. The following day, a private ceremony was conducted by the Sanibel-Captiva Optimists Club to commemorate the final opening of the drawbridge. The Sanibel-Captiva Optimists Club held a raffle for the opportunity to be the operator of the drawbridge's machinery for it's final opening. Seasonal Sanibel residents Bob and Ana Finks won the raffle, and they got to keep the operating lever from the drawbridge's control room as part of the raffle. At the end of the ceremony, the drawbridge's draw spans were permanently left open.[3] Demolition of the drawbridge is now under way.

Bridge B

Bridge B is the middle bridge, and is the shortest of the three bridges. The current Bridge B opened for traffic on April 11, 2007, and was the first of the current spans to open. The current Bridge B was built ten feet taller than the original Bridge B to help reduce corrosion from salt spray, which was one of the major factors in the deterioration of the old bridge. Unlike the other two bridges, Bridge B has no navigation channel passing underneath. Plans are in place for a fishing pier to be constructed on top of the first few pilings from the original Bridge B. It will be similar to the fishing pier constructed out of the original bridges on the Sunshine Skyway in St. Petersburg. [4]

Bridge C

Bridge C is the closest bridge to Sanibel Island, and is the longest of the three bridges. The current Bridge C opened for traffic on September 8, 2007, and was the last of the current spans to open. The grand-opening ceremony was held the same day to commemorate the completion of the current spans. As part of the grand opening ceremony, the first group of cars to cross the current Bridge C was a procession of "classic cars", followed by regular traffic. Similar to Bridge B, the current Bridge C was also constructed ten feet taller than the original bridge. Bridge C's vertical clearance over it's navigation channel is 26 feet.

As the old bridges are demolished, they will be sunk into the water to create a number of artificial reefs in the San Carlos Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Demolition is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2007.

In addition to the new bridges, Summerlin Road (County Road 869), which leads up to the causeway, received several improvements. Summerlin Road was widened to six lanes, and an overpass was constructed at it's intersection with San Carlos Boulevard (State Road 865). Two left-turning overpasses were also constructed at Summerlin's intersection with Gladiolus Drive (County Road 865). This project was separate from the Sanibel Causeway project, but was completed around the same time.

Gallery

• 
  The Toll Plaza
• 
  The remains of the original Bridge B. A new fishing pier will be constructed on top of these pilings.
• 
  Both the old Bridge A (the drawbridge) and the current Bridge A. Demolition is now underway on the drawbridge.
• 
  The top of the drawbridge's draw spans as seen from the current bridge. Both of the draw spans have since been removed during demolition.
• 
  The demolition progress on the old Bridge A as of October 2007.

External Links

• Sanibel Causeway and Bridge Construction Project
• Lee County Department of Transportation Homepage

26°28′35″N 82°01′32″W