Did you know that during hurricanes asphalt roofing shingles act like flying blades? More on that momentarily….
Today Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was in the Punta Rassa area of South Fort Myers to celebrate a remarkable accomplishment. The Sanibel bridges and causeway are open to civilian traffic. {Direct Rumble Link}
The massive, albeit temporary, repairs to the three spans and spoil islands have been completed three weeks after Hurricane Ian wiped them out. A genuinely remarkable feat of engineering and git’ r done roughneck effort. Truly an incredible accomplishment. To check out the scale of it see PICTURES HERE.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that emergency repairs to the Sanibel Causeway have been completed in 15 days, more than a week ahead of schedule. As of this morning, access to Sanibel Island has been restored for residents, reconnecting Sanibel Island to the mainland. WATCH:
“The work that has been done to restore vehicle access to Sanibel Island has been historic,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Cutting through bureaucratic red tape and delivering on our promise to get Sanibel Island up and running has been a top priority. By restoring access over the causeway, repair crews, first responders, emergency vehicles, business owners and residents will be better able to expedite recovery from this storm.”
“I am grateful for our dedicated team members who quite literally built a road in the Gulf in 15 days,” said FDOT Secretary Jared W. Perdue, P.E. “While the bridges were largely undamaged by the storm, portions of the causeway which connect bridge structures together were washed away by Hurricane Ian, leaving the bridges unconnected to the mainland or the island.
A project like this, under normal circumstances, could take months. However, FDOT, along with our law enforcement partners at the Florida Highway Patrol, Lee County and Florida Department of Emergency Management made use of strategic and innovative techniques to rebuild the causeways quickly. Under Governor DeSantis’ leadership, and thanks to the hard work of hundreds of FDOT employees and contractors, we were able to relink Sanibel Island to the mainland.”
On October 4, Governor DeSantis directed FDOT to prioritize repairs to the Sanibel Causeway with an estimated completion date by the end of October. On October 11, the Governor announced that due to steady progress on repairs to the causeway, a one-time convoy of more than 350 vehicles for utility restoration would be able to safely cross the bridge onto Sanibel Island.
Damage from Hurricane Ian prevented vehicles from being able to cross the 3-mile-long bridge, delaying the delivery of needed services and supplies to the hard-hit Sanibel community. Crews worked around the clock to restore drivable access for the over 6,000 residents of Sanibel Island. With the completion of the temporary emergency repairs to the Sanibel Causeway, FDOT will now work with Lee County on plans for permanent repairs on the causeway.
FDOT, in partnership with Lee County, has completed emergency repairs to several other damaged bridges in the Lee County area, including repairs to the Pine Island Bridge in less than three days in addition to Big Carlos Pass, Big Hickory, Little Carlos Pass, and New Pass Bridges.
Access to Sanibel Island via the Sanibel Causeway will be managed by Lee County. For more information, please visit www.leegov.com or follow Lee County on Facebook at www.facebook.com/leecountyflbocc.
[More Pictures Here]
Governor Ron DeSantis has done a great job, and those who wash with Lava soap and degreaser are inspiringly awesome. Check Out This Video:
On the home front a few expected and unexpected challenges remain.
First, my apologies for not being able to post more content at CTH. Electricity and water service have been restored, but internet service is still a considerable challenge. Most of the current CTH articles are written from weak hotspots or travel to temporary business centers which have been established for use.
It is a wee bit challenging, not just for my efforts here but much more so for businesses in SWFL that rely on stable internet to process business transactions. Remember the pre-hurricane advice about having cash and not relying on electricity and internet?… Yeah, in some areas that aspect is still an ongoing issue.
Then there’s the goofy stuff. Just about everyone who was fortunate enough to have a stable structure remaining, has some form of a tarp roof. It’s like living in a tent, but a house, with plywood. Think about Bagram AFB with cinder block walls… lol… Hey, it’s home. Permanent installation roofers will be busy here for years; however, on a positive note our insurance adjuster (cool guy) said they were expecting 200,000+ claims, and so far only had 30,000. So, perhaps the major structural issues are more isolated.
On a directly related note, did you know that asphalt shingles are like flying razor blades in hurricanes? Ask me how I know this, and I will show you a shingle about 6 inches squared that sliced through the front grill of the truck and we found embedded in the radiator today. She was overheating, and now I know why. Crazy stuff.
Also, any gearheads out there with good advice on the best quality long-term patches for tires let me know. Roofing nails are hobbling everyone (also raises hand), tire shops look like the entrance to Trump rallies….
….which also look like the line for internet service appointments.
Apparently, whoever at Comcast/Xfinity came up with the script, “to report your internet outage, please go on-line to www.”, didn’t quite think through the process.
It reminds me of that sign I saw on the stairs years ago that I just had to take a picture of (see above). Hey, we need to laugh because the alternative isn’t healthy.
Back to the hurricane tip part. You can always tell those people who have been through hurricanes before by how they parked their cars. I have never included this in the hurricane advice before so it’s worth a mention.
Regarding hurricane damage, if you lose your Florida garage door you will more than likely lose your roof. That’s just the reality of having a massive opening in your structure to 150 mph winds that will lift the trusses.
First tip, if you have two vehicles, put one vehicle inside the garage with the front bumper against the door to help stop the flex (do this carefully). Put the other vehicle outside blocking the garage door facing down the driveway. Use the aero dynamics of the car to push the wind up away from the door.
Second tip, if you live in a flood zone, or if you are concerned about storm surge, the day before impact take your #1 car to the nearest airport or hotel with a parking garage and park in the upper levels. Take an uber back home if you don’t have a friend or partner to help you. This way you know you will have one workable vehicle, just in case.
I’m going to compile a list of oddball prepper stuff after learning even more from this event, and I will share it.
Stay strong; keep a good thought and be thankful. Again, the alternative provides no value.
Love to all,
~ Sundance
Lord, I cherish the lessons in patience, but please remove the blue circle of misery from my computer screen.
Shingles: After one of the three hurricanes over the house here in Central Florida in 2004 we found a large chunk of a shingle inside our screened and roofed patio. We spent a couple of days trying to figure out how in the world it got in there.
We finally noticed a slit in a large screen panel; it looked like it had been made with a box cutter and had almost repaired itself, returning to it’s natural lay.
The length of the slit perfectly matched one of the dimensions of the chunk of shingle. I couldn’t have made a neater cut in that screen if I had tried.
Yes. It’s crazy how those things are like flying razor blades. 🙁
Much love and many prayers to you and all who are rolling up your sleeves to get things done and doing so in a manner that is uplifting to those around you. You must take turns holding up the other guy because you’ll be needing their help giving you a reason to go on smiling and everyone definitely knowing there is still a heck of a lot to be thankful for, despite everything you’re facing. Hugs to you all 🤗
Just thought of an emergency repair I made on a tire with a nail in it! Pull the nail out part way , slather any glue you have on it and pound it back in . Super glue or actual tire cement would be best, but in a pinch I’d use anything. Good luck! Stay safe! You are Very Important! ALWAYS FORWARD!!
Sundance, we switched to these for our dealership in the 90’s
The salesman for the product literally poked a hole in his personal sales vehicle SIDEWALL then repaired with this kit to prove its merits, that tire already had dozens of sidewall patches in it with his companies kit.
Now not to say I would have done that for a customer vehicle for liability reasons… for my own ….yea.
Never had an issue using these plugs, most places require inside patches nowadays for liability reasons tho.
This is quick and permanent for anyone to use.
Passenger / light truck
Tech Tire Repair
https://products.techtirerepairs.com/product/permacure-passenger-kit/
Large Truck kit for tubeless anyway
Tech Tire Repair large truck
https://products.techtirerepairs.com/product/permacure-truck-kit/
Disasters can be a tool to get us to work together showing our “can do” spirit.
I do not like Governor Santis as a person; he is a traitor to the MAGA movement;
a phony if you will, taking money and is beholden to rinos. Yes, the same rinos
who are attempting to destroy our country. The same multi national corporations
who are price gouging, blaming the high prices on Russia, etc.
However, he is apparently doing a good job as governor holding all these press
conferences telling us all how good the government is doing. President Trump would be holding
press conferences too, but I think he would be bringing up engineers on stage and
telling us what a good job they are doing. How the people who live in the areas hit
and others who came from all across the country, are banding together to help
each other. That is the message that needs to be heard. Its not Gov. DeSantis,
it is Americans!
Your shingle story reminds me of a Comedian Ron White bit regarding people outside in a hurricane. “It’s not THAT the wind is blowin’, it’s WHAT the wind is blowin’”!
I’ve had great luck with mushroom style tire plugs. My 4 wheelers have dozens of them and have for years. They work great for passenger vehicles as well.
Very quick, very easy.
This is the brand I have.
And if you’re on any particular cordless tool battery system, they all have cordless tire inflators.
About the stairs- some Floridians aren’t used to stairs, there is so much one level living.
I remember having a visitor once, a young lad born and raised in Fort Myers. We showed him our attic. It was a tourist attraction to him, he had heard of them but never seen one.
He was able to quote a statistic on what percentage of house fires start in the attic.
House fires were not a major concern in Fort Myers, maybe because of the dearth of wooden structures?
My southern-boy husband was that way about my parents basement … got this whole 2 Story house … open what looks like a closet door and SHAZAM … another whole floor of rooms downstairs in the “basement” 🙂
Thank you, Sundance. Blessings.
Does anybody think for one minute (after seeing this awesome contribution from Sundance) that the American people can’t put this country back together again after HURRICANE BIDEN?
You can buy a tire repair kit, called a “tire plugger,” which is good for nail punctures: you use a needle-like device to force an asphalt string into the hole. Believe it or not, it is considered a permanent repair. But you still need an air compressor to refill the tire.
For example:
https://www.autozone.com/suspension-steering-tire-and-wheel/tire-repair-kit/p/slime-t-handle-tire-plugger-kit/486791_0_0
Has starlink been deployed in the area ?
The RV version; works great on Pine Island. Generator, propane and Starlink. What hurricane?
as for the blue tarps will be a year or two before they are all done.. here in NOLA metro area we still have some left from Hurrican Ida in august 2021… but the bulk of them will be done within 6 months, then the stragglers and then some people will have them for years because they dont have the money to repair it.
Interesting fact. Musk provides Starlink free in Ukraine….ignores FL.
Naw, we recently discussed Musk optimizing Starlink for Florida after Ian.
Internet. With Comcast not being able to restore service until December, I signed up with Starlink (RV service) had my equipment within a week, pay about the same with no degradation in speed or latency. Easy for non technical people to setup and just …. works.
I second the mushroom plug comment. Those things are the bomb…but realistically, even a standard tire plugging kit, when done correctly and as long as the radial belts aren’t damaged, will be a permanent repair. Use rubber glue on the plug before you insert it to ensure that it seals tight and dries into a permanent plug.
I drive a truck into remote and rough places on a regular basis and have plugged a lot of tires. I keep a kit and a 12v portable compressor in all my vehicles. The spare only gets used if there’s a blowout or cut that can’t be plugged.
The tire manufacturers tell you plugging is a temporary repair because they want you to buy new tires, the plug kit manufacturers tell you that because their lawyers tell them they need to for liability reasons, but I’ve had to plug relatively new tires that I didn’t have the money to replace and the plugs lasted until the tread wore out.
Of course, if the the radial belts are damaged, they can separate and cause the tire to bulge and fail (I’ve had that happen to me once) but as long as that doesn’t happen…plug away…and if the belts are damaged, it won’t matter what kind of patch you use, the tire will fail eventually anyway.
Caveat…I’m no pro, I’m just telling you my experience.
I had a sidewall cut in the middle of nowhere one time on a 4 wheeler…handy tip…just keep stuffing the rope style plugs in the tear until you can’t fit any more. I was able to go 15 minutes at a time before stopping to top off air. Got me back to camp.