Sanibel causeway reopens after Ian damage

Two and a half years after Hurricane Ian dramatically impacted Florida, the Sanibel causeway is finally rebuilt.

Transcript

00:00It's been two and a half years since Hurricane Ian slammed in the southwest Florida.

00:06Sanibel Island was one of the areas hit hard and is still rebuilding.

00:12Today, AccuWeather's Leslie Hudson joins us from Sanibel, Florida with more.

00:16Leslie, what can you tell us?

00:19Hey, Ari. Yeah, it's hard to believe that when you take a look at what's going on around me

00:25that Ian was almost three years ago.

00:28That'll be the anniversary at the end of September.

00:30Now, over my shoulder is that Sanibel Causeway.

00:33You may recall how this was one of the major headlines that came out of Ian

00:37because it completely collapsed, which landlocked and stranded thousands of people

00:42on the other side of that causeway.

00:44So a multi-year, multi-million dollar rebuild has been underway.

00:49And this area of Sanibel sees about 150,000 to 200,000 tourists every year.

00:55So it's a huge part of their commerce.

00:58As you take a look at some of the video from Ian, you can see that complete collapse.

01:02There were multiple fractures along the causeway, not just one.

01:06So it was a very long, protracted event to rebuild this area.

01:10Now, the actual causeway itself was rebuilt in about four weeks to at least get some of the rescue crews over there.

01:17But it wasn't until just about 10 days ago that this entire causeway opened up

01:22and the beaches that line either side that straddle here, the bay and the gulf, were fully functional.

01:28And that's only phase one here in this multi-year project that they're trying to get Sanibel and Captiva back up and running.

01:35A lot of folks tend to forget about these storms.

01:38But Ian really put a huge dent in the commerce here.

01:42And we talked to the city of Sanibel mayor yesterday.

01:46And he told us some of the resiliency efforts that they have done to try and avoid this type of disaster again.

01:54They elevated the roadway by two feet.

01:57They protected the shoreline by putting in sheet pile walls, by putting in what's called gavion baskets,

02:07which are also called marine mattresses, just wire structures filled with rocks,

02:12and then boulders riprap on the outside of the shoreline, all to maintain greater resiliency on the part of the causeway.

02:19Hasn't been tested yet, but we think it would be much better than it was.

02:22So to give you some perspective, they're only about 50% up and running,

02:31all of the restaurants and the hotels and the condos in this area.

02:35Their goal is to get at 70% capacity by the end of this year.

02:39So it has been a slow build here.

02:42A lot of folks left the area.

02:44Many, of course, stayed because this is a very sleepy part of Florida that is very popular.

02:49But we'll be talking to other folks here that have come up with some innovative ways to try and rebuild among all of this destruction.

02:56Reporting live from Sanibel Island, Florida, I'm Leslie Hudson.

02:58Back to you.

02:59Leslie, we appreciate the report.