Sanibel Causeway is intact again as trucks roll onto the island battered by Hurricane Ian

Vehicles are once again rolling across the Sanibel Causeway.

On Tuesday afternoon, more than 350 trucks and trailers bringing help to the Hurricane Ian-battered barrier island climbed the first span of the freshly patched three-mile connection to the mainland. Gov. Ron DeSantis promised everyone else will be able to do the same in 10 days.

“This will be open for civilian use Oct. 21,” the governor said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

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The storm broke the causeway in three places, washing out chunks of the spoil islands that held up the roadbed.

For the first week, workers, evacuated islanders, equipment and supplies had to arrive via air or water, since the land route had been destroyed. That will continue, DeSantis said, but the addition of over-the-road transport will help a lot.

“You can only helicopter or barge so many people or so much equipment,” he said, so the question became: “How can we get more trucks on the island of Sanibel as soon as possible?”

The convoy included crews from the Lee County Electric Cooperative, Florida Power and Light, Duke Energy and other Florida electricity providers.

The trucks were part of a “massive logistical operation“ that included hauling over food, water, portable restrooms, laundry, portable showers, sleeping and drone teams to survey flooded areas, said Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

Jared Perdue, secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation, said staffers from around the state have swarmed Southwest Florida, inspecting bridges, restoring traffic lights and signs. Most of the causeway work, he said, has been to fix the roadway and islands leading up to the bridge.

"The actual bridge structures, thankfully, are in good shape and have been inspected and are safe for passage," he said, "so now it’s really a matter of getting the causeway rebuilt and linking everything back together.”

Next comes paving and road striping, Perdue said.

Pine Island should have 25% power restored by Thursday

DeSantis also spoke about work to restore Pine Island, which got a temporary bridge last week.

Electric crews are now clearing debris, replacing poles and stringing new lines. By Thursday, DeSantis said, power should be restored to one quarter of Pine Island, including at grocery stores Publix and Winn-Dixie and some water treatment plant substations. By next week, a third of the island and the Matlacha area should be online, the governor said.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Sanibel Island: Causeway open to trucks now, residents on October 21