HOA: Construction begins on Caloosa Shores bridge
The Caloosa Shores Homeowners Association recently announced that construction has begun on the Caloosa Shores community bridge located on Caloosa Drive on Sanibel, just off of Wildlife Drive.
More than two and a half years after losing the neighborhood’s entranceway bridge to Hurricane Ian, Caloosa Shores residents are excited for the reconstruction of the new, state-of-the-art structure.
“The new bridge will once again provide direct roadway access to our coveted and unique enclave of just 24 canal-front properties,” HOA President Evan duPont said.
The private community, which borders the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, has been accessible via the exit of the refuge since the 2022 storm.
The HOA expressed gratitude to the management team at the refuge.
“We are extremely grateful to Kevin Godsea, Bob Gerwig and the entire team at the refuge for their dedication and support over the past 32 months in allowing us to share their roadway as ingress and egress to Caloosa Shores,” duPont said. “We are delighted that our new bridge will alleviate this strain on the park and once again provide our homeowners with quick and easy access.”
Homeowners were responsible for securing the engineers, surveyors and construction team to design and rebuild the bridge that was more than 60 years old. Additionally, the 24 property owners were responsible for funding the project without financial assistance from the city of Sanibel or Lee County.
Bridge Committee Chairperson Chris Denick, former HOA President Wendy Kindig and Board Member-at-Large Julie Hayles worked tirelessly to find qualified contractors to complete the nearly $1 million project and expedite the permitting process. J.R. Evans Engineering and Acros Bridge were contracted to oversee design, and Thomas Marine Construction was hired as the bridge contractor.
“It was very challenging to find a qualified bridge contractor to take on this relatively small project. We were thrilled to find a local contractor that was very familiar with Sanibel and the unique nature of this location,” Denick said. “The permitting process alone took over 10 months to complete.”
The HOA reported that using the latest technology, the bridge will be built to last. Although the bridge slab is just over 18 feet, the structure’s total length is just over 53 feet when combined with the two approaching 16-foot slabs.
Kevin Shimp, with Thomas Marine Construction, is overseeing the project and anticipates that the bridge will be completed by early fall.
For more information about the project, contact duPont at CaloosaShoresHOA@gmail.com.