As an engineering undertaking, the imploding of the old Sanibel Causeway Bascule Bridge may have been a success, but the decidedly underwhelming spectacle was a major letdown to the dozens of people who turned out to watch a large piece of local history slip beneath the waves.

Seems the old bridge, or at least what’s left of it, was still standing following a dynamite-fueled charge that sent hundreds of gallons of water cascading over the new, 78-foot-high fixed-span structure immediately adjacent to it.


“The concrete piers slipped into the water, but the rest of the bridge will be removed conventionally,” said Paul Wingard, deputy director of the Lee County Department of Transportation.


The blast, originally scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, was ultimately delayed 54 minutes because the three helicopters hovering overhead for most of the morning spotted various dolphins and manatees swimming around a little too close to the blast area.

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