Sanibel sandbar forms, dredging delayed until 2027

SANIBEL, Fla. (WINK) — Two barrier island beaches are now connected, and it's not by a bridge.

The end of Sanibel and the beginning of Captiva are connected by one big sandbar. It has not always been like this.

Since all the hurricanes, beach renourishment projects, and Mother Nature worked together to form this. The result is closing Blind Pass for now.

Nathan Mallon has seen a sandbar before, but usually he has to wade out in the water first to get there. Monday, all it took was a quick walk in the sand.

"This one is much bigger. It's pretty cool," Mallon said.

It started as a beach renourishment project on Captiva. In January, the Captiva Erosion Prevention District posted that part of their project was done.

Two months later, Mother Nature did some renovating. Before this sand formed, people would usually be up to their waists in water at this location.

For some, it may look like you can wade in the water there. Don't be fooled, you are still asked not to swim there.

The sand isn't the biggest difference you'll see. Mallon and his cousin walked away with a bag full of shells on the Sanibel side, but on Captiva, the shelling has been less successful.

Ashley Brown and her family from Iowa say their search for shells has not been as successful this year.

"When we came last year, I have a video. Like the shells were everywhere, like you could just pick them up, like buckets of them, and there's obviously shells," Brown said.

So will Blind Pass stay closed? The short answer is no.

The county's policy says it needs to have an open pass, but that's going to take some time.

A county spokesperson tells WINK News it will do much-needed dredging, but that likely won't be until 2027.