Florida-based contractors Superior Construction and The de Moya Group helped rebuild the Sanibel Causeway after Hurricane Ian hit in September 2022. Their work was recognized with the Design-Build Institute of America’s (DBIA’s) Florida Region Award for Best Overall Project of the Year.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) invested $328 million in a reconstruction project that was completed using an emergency phased design-build contract. Instead of waiting for the design to be completed, this approach enabled the Superior–de Moya joint venture to perform both emergency repairs and permanent reconstruction simultaneously. This method eliminated the need for temporary fixes and sped up the overall timeline.

The rebuilt causeway sets a new standard for Florida’s coastal infrastructure. Enhanced features include steel sheet pile wall systems with nearly 69,677 m² (750,000 sf) of coverage, 116,116 tonnes (127,996 tons) of strategically placed armor stone, elevated seawalls, advanced stormwater drainage systems, and infrastructure designed to withstand Category 5 hurricanes.

The Sanibel Causeway reconstruction has also earned national recognition from DBIA, receiving the Merit Award in Transportation, the Award of Excellence in Transportation, and the prestigious Chairs Award, selected by DBIA’s national chairperson as the best overall project. The project also won the 2025 Engineering News-Record (ENR) Southeast Best Regional Project Award in the Highway/Bridge category and was a finalist for ENR Southeast Project of the Year.