Overview
“I drove across the bridge…and what a beautiful ride. It is you and the workers [who] came before you that are responsible for what we have today.” – Sanibel Mayor Richard Johnson
A devastating storm and swift response
On September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian hit Florida’s southwestern coast as a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph. Its damaging winds and catastrophic storm surge claimed more than 150 lives and caused $112 billion in damage. It also washed away portions of Sanibel Causeway, a three-mile-long series of small islands and bridges, leaving some locals stranded on Sanibel and Captiva Islands.
“Pictures don’t really do it justice,” said Superior Construction Central Florida Division Manager Ryan Hamrick, who led the Sanibel emergency repairs joint-venture team. “Seeing it with your own eyes gives you a great appreciation for storm surge and what it can do to the structures we build every day.”
Superior Construction’s rapid response protocol enabled the formation of a joint venture with The de Moya Group within 24 hours of Ian’s landfall. On October 4, 2022, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) selected the Superior/de Moya Joint Venture as preferred contractors for the state’s first-ever phased design-build contract—a groundbreaking approach that would span from emergency repairs through permanent reconstruction.
Emergency Repairs: 15 Days to Reconnect a Community
The Joint Venture team completed temporary repairs in just 15 days, allowing the causeway to reopen to residents on October 19, 2022. Crews finished those early repairs nearly two weeks ahead of schedule, despite unprecedented logistical challenges.
“Things that typically aren’t a challenge on a job were some of our biggest obstacles,” Hamrick said. “Accessing the site, securing crew housing, providing meals, delivering equipment and fuel to the job site, sourcing electricity — all of it required time and careful coordination. But our teams were ultimately successful because every single person on the job site was laser-focused on helping the community reestablish connection to the mainland.”
Creative solutions included housing workers in mobile trailers at a nearby airport, transporting crews by boat, linking to first responder phone networks for communication, and grilling all meals on-site for more than 100 crew members working around the clock.
The long-term plan: engineering resilient infrastructure
Following the emergency repairs, the team shifted focus to permanent reconstruction designed to withstand future storms. The scope included constructing permanent bridge approaches, installing resilient causeway protection with steel sheet piles, placing strategic armor stone, and restoring drainage, lighting, and pavement markings.
Although the temporary emergency permit expired before the permanent permit was issued, Superior quickly obtained the permit necessary to resume permanent construction work on September 8, 2023.
“Despite this setback, we still wanted to meet the original deadline for roadway work to be substantially completed, which was Christmas 2023,” said Superior Project Manager Toby Mazzoni.
At peak construction, the Joint Venture team deployed massive resources: three pile-driving crews, four roadway earthwork crews, two storm drainage crews, six rebar-tying crews, eight concrete placement crews, three asphalt paving crews, and various support resources—all while maintaining two lanes of traffic throughout construction.
The project’s resilience was tested in real time when Hurricanes Debby, Milton, and Helene struck Florida during construction in 2024. Completed sections withstood these storms intact while unfinished areas experienced washouts, providing real-world validation of Superior’s engineering approach.
To meet accelerated schedules, the team’s designers provided estimated quantities for long-lead materials like steel sheet piles and armor stone before final approval, allowing vendor orders to be placed early. Strong supplier relationships enabled the team to procure materials — which often take months to obtain — in just a few weeks.
project completion and community impact
The Sanibel Joint Venture team substantially completed the project in May 2025, after building five seawalls during hurricane season and strategically placing high-quality armor stone materials from Alabama and Virginia quarries. The reconstruction not only restored access but significantly enhanced the causeway’s resilience against future storms.
The project’s innovative phased design-build approach and remarkable execution garnered national attention, with features published in Engineering News-Record (ENR), Construction Dive, Informed Infrastructure, Engineering Florida, Bridge Design & Engineering, and numerous other publications. It has received numerous awards from industry groups including The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Florida Transportation Builders’ Association (FTBA) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Florida Section. Awards were far from the primary motivation for the Joint Venture team, however, according to Superior CEO Nick Largura.
“Hurricane Ian devastated Lee County, and it was our privilege to rebuild a crucial piece of infrastructure for our fellow Floridians and neighbors,” said Largura. “It’s not a task we took lightly.”
