Tour of the Sanibel Island Causeway
Take a tour of the Sanibel Island Causeway from up high and learn about how the causeway was developed and why! The current causeway consists of three separate bridges with two man-made islands between them. Bridge A is the closest bridge to the tollbooth and is 70 feet tall. It’s the tallest bridge in Lee County!
The three-mile-long causeway navigates across the body of water called San Carlos Bay. Before the causeway existed a ferry crossed from Punta Rassa to Sanibel on a daily basis. The trip took about 45 minutes each way. By the mid-1950s it was clear that the ferries were insufficient as demand to get to the islands had increased.
The first Sanibel Causeway was completed and open for traffic on May 26, 1963. The boulevard adjacent to the four-way stop as you come onto Sanibel is named after the original causeways creator, Hugo Lindgren. The original bridge was of a similar configuration as you see it today. It consists of three spans and two islands. The main difference between the new and the old bridge was the old bridge had a much lower span A. It was only 26 feet high so it required a drawbridge to allow boats to pass through. The original causeway needed to be replaced. In 2004 they started construction on the new one. The official grand opening ceremony was held 3 years later on September 8, 2007. The original bridges were later demolished and were sunk to create a number of artificial reefs such as Picnic Island and Fisherman’s Key.
