provided to The Santiva Chronicle
The Caloosa Shores Homeowners Association recently announced that construction has begun on the Caloosa Shores community bridge located on Caloosa Drive, just off Wildlife Drive.
More than two and a half years after Hurricane Ian destroyed the neighborhood’s entranceway bridge, Caloosa Shores residents are excited about 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, all with direct Gulf access,’ said HOA President Evan duPont.
The secluded private community, which borders the J. N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, has been accessible via the park’s exit since 2022.
A local Realtor and full-time resident of Sanibel, duPont, 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,” said duPont.
“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 to Caloosa Shores,” he said.
Homeowners in the private community 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.
Chris Denick, Bridge Committee Chairperson; Wendy Kindig, former HOA President; and Julie Hayles, Board Member-at-Large, worked tirelessly to find qualified contractors to complete the nearly $1 million project and expedite the permitting process.
J.R. Evans Engineering, P.A. and Acros Bridge, Inc. were contracted to oversee design, and Thomas Marine Construction was hired as the bridge contractor.
Using the latest technology, the bridge is being built to last. Although the bridge slab is just over 18 feet long, in combination with the two approaching slabs, each 16 feet long, brings the structure’s total length to just over 53 feet.
Denick added, “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 who was very familiar with Sanibel and the unique nature of this location. The permitting process alone took over 10 months to complete.”
Kevin Shimp, President of Thomas Marine Construction, based in Fort Myers, is overseeing the project and anticipates that the bridge will be completed by early fall 2025.
For more information on the project and the community of Caloosa Shores, contact Evan duPont at CaloosaShoresHOA@gmail.com
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