A week after high-end Category 4 Hurricane Ian made landfall across Southwest Florida, a passageway to badly-battered Pine Island opened Wednesday.

Governor Ron DeSantis made the announcement on Matlacha Wednesday morning before meeting with President Joe Biden while final inspections were being done. He said a temporary reconstruction of the bridge connecting the island area to the mainland would be open to the public later that day. While that claim did not come to fruition and the bridge did not open to the public, it was used on Wednesday for emergency vehicles, power company trucks, debris removal trucks, and supply trucks.

The bridge did open to the public on Thursday. Cape Coral Police Department officials said checkpoints to gain access to the bridge are being manned by law enforcement. As of Thursday, police said only residents, first responders, utility providers, tele-com companies, supply vendors and debris removal haulers were permitted to access the bride.

Drivers will have to show proof of residency, whether that be a driver’s license, utility bill, lease, or other proof of residency.

Police said contractors for individual property owners, insurance company employees, and others that do not fall into the previously stated categories, would need to show documentation that states the address which they are affiliated.

“A lot of the folks in the area wanted the access, so I tasked the Department of Transportation to figure out a solution so that we would restore access so that folks could live on the island which is what they want to do, but also to be able to get off to go about their lives,” DeSantis

Emergency vehicles would start going over the patchworked Matlacha Bridge roughly an hour after the noon press conference to ensure its safety.

Island residents told The Breeze the public has not yet been given access.

“I just ask everyone to be patient as they work through these last little kinks, DeSantis said. “They have to make sure that some of the emergency (vehicles) can get on. I know Publix is staged and ready to go and bringing their trucks across and reopening their store.”

The governor called the residents of Pine Island and Matlacha “resilient” and said the opening of the bridge will allow for more debris to be cleared and power restored.

“I think we have a chance to bounce back a lot quicker than people think,” DeSantis said. “I think there’s a great spirit on the island.”

He advised residents to take their time going over the roadwork.

“Just go easy on this thing, DeSantis said.

FDOT Secretary Jared Perdue said the project took more than 50 hours to complete and was days ahead of schedule. His team was willing and eager to step in to help.

“As soon as the governor gave us the direction to work on this facility, we mobilized our contractor and internal forces across the entire state,” Perdue said, adding FDOT has cleared more than 5,000 miles of state roads. “Crews were determined to restore access to Pine Island as quickly as they possibly could.”

DeSantis said he was able to visit Sanibel on the ground for the first time and said it was the first area to remind him of 2018 Category 5 Hurricane Michael.

“There’s more debris I think on Sanibel than any place I’ve been thus far in terms of what we’ve been able to do,” he said. “Of course, there’s a lot of vegetation there generally, so you understand why that would be the case.

“I saw more damage to the power infrastructure on Sanibel than anywhere that I’ve seen, and maybe even more than Fort Myers Beach. I saw concrete utility poles snapped in half. I saw a lot of places where the lines were totally down. That’s going to require rebuilding of the power infrastructure and the debris removal efforts are going to be really, really massive.”

He said a contract for temporary reconstruction such as the one done for the Matlacha Bridge has been executed and officials hope to have the causeway safely passable by the end of October.

Florida Department of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie provided updates on relief efforts.

Guthrie said all 13 water treatment plants were operational and pushing water in Lee County as of Wednesday.

Florida Points of Distribution (PODs) had provided 34 million bottles of water, 9 million meals and 500 generators, with hundreds more expected to arrive as of Wednesday.

He added debris removal efforts are now being performed on the islands.

It total, Guthrie reported that $70 million has already been paid out by FEMA at the time of the conference, and that those that fall into Category A or B claims have 60 days to file instead of 30.

The Army Corps of Engineers Blue Roof program is in Lee County. Call 1-888-766-3258 (ROOF-BLU) to apply or visit BlueRoof.us.

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