Putting the Sanibel Lighthouse back together: What will it cost and how long will it take?
It makes sense that even repairs to Sanibel's lighthouse involve insurance estimates, deductibles and delays.
More than a year after Hurricane Ian slammed the barrier island, smashing one of the historic tower's leg into three pieces, it's awaiting final fixes as the city deals with its municipal insurance company.
The good news, says spokesman Eric Jackson, is the popular beach on the lighthouse's point is open, with only the apron around the tower closed off. "There's fencing and caution tape just to keep people away" from the active repair area, Jackson says, "but people can view it and get pictures of it."
More good news: Repairs might be in the home stretch as early as next week.
Here are five things to know about the lighthouse and its recovery:
The gossip mill was wrong about it being swept to sea
Though early rumors had it the lighthouse was gone, the illuminated tower made it through the storm. What Ian did sweep away with its 155 mph-plus wind and 13-foot storm surge were two historic cottages at the light's base.
When the buildings slammed into the tower, they knocked one of its legs out from under it, breaking it into three pieces, later found nearby. Missing limb or not, the tower still stood, a testament to its soundness, Celina Kersh Monte-Sano, president of the Sanibel Historical Museum and Village told The News-Press a month after the storm. "It shows how how structurally stable that tower actually was," she said.
Even so, the city wasn't taking any chances, and quickly replaced the broken leg with an emergency wooden support. That was later replaced with a metal placeholder, Jackson said.
Getting it fixed is complicated – of course
Almost immediately, the paperwork (well, electronic work) began. The process involves the city, its municipal insurance company, specialty structural engineers and artisanal cast-iron fabricators and Kersh Monte-Sano's nonprofit, which manages Sanibel’s historic properties.
A complete structural evaluation and report had to be drafted before restoration could start. Eventually, the final bespoke replacement leg will be a cast iron replica of the original support column, says Crystal Mansell, Sanibel's director of administrative services.
"The contractor that is fabricating the cast iron replica is Robinson Iron Co. out of Alexander City, (Alabama)," Mansell wrote in an email. Once the new leg is in place, a second contractor, Razorback LLC out of Tarpon Springs, will mobilize and begin corrosion remediation and coating application to all interior and exterior painted surfaces, she wrote. The tower will get "a high-performance industrial coating with an epoxy primer and polyurethane finish."
Prosthetic or not, the tower was quickly illuminated again
After five months of darkness, in February, the U.S. Coast Guard, which maintains the lighthouse, re-lit it. Many turned out to watch the ceremony, which gave islanders a huge psychological boost, City Councilwoman Holly Smith, who was the island city's mayor in the storm's aftermath, told The News-Press.
How much will this all cost?
The repairs should be about $839,000. "The contract amount for repair of one column, one strut and 5 tie rods is $217,020," Mansell wrote. "The contractor will also repair the broken cast iron ladder and two window stops (and) the cost for the interior and exterior coating project is $622,000."
What's the timeline?
Of course the region has learned that with hurricane repairs, everything is subject to change, but "fabrication of the column, struts (and) tie rods is expected to be complete by December 31," Mansell wrote. "Tentatively, the contractor is expected to mobilize the second week of January to begin the permanent column repair. A confirmed schedule date will be dependent upon completion of fabrication work."
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: New year, new leg: Sanibel Lighthouse might soon be on all fours again
