FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:            Amy Davies, Lee County Department of Transportation
                         (941) 479-8589

CAUSEWAY REPAIR SCHEDULE:
COUNTY STILL WORKING OUT DETAILS OF PLAN FOR PERMANENT FIX

FORT MYERS, Fla. (January 10, 2003) – Lee County is working all day today with its consulting engineer to finalize plans for the permanent fix for the middle Sanibel Causeway Bridge.

The plan is not finalized, HOWEVER, the county is considering completely closing the bridge Saturday, Jan. 18 between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. to REPLACE the cracked beams, and not reopening until 6 a.m. Monday, Jan. 20 (Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday).

Complete closure is needed because the county would be actually replacing that part of the bridge.

There is a POSSIBILITY the work would not take that long, HOWEVER, people should not make plans based on the bridge reopening earlier.

This three-day weekend was chosen to minimize disruption.

We stress, this plan has not been finalIZED, it is still being worked out in all its details today, and the county hopes to issued a finalized plan before 5 p.m.