The causeway washed out by Hurricane Ian that links Sanibel Island to the Florida mainland reopened with temporary repairs on Wednesday, announced. The 3-mile (4.8-kilometer) causeway was badly damaged by the Category 4 hurricane, with initial predictions that repairs could take months. Instead, the span reopened just three weeks after the storm blew ashore Sept. 28.

“It’s something that shows a little bit of a can-do spirit,” Gov. Ron DeSantis DeSantis, said at a news conference, adding that government bureaucracy should not hamper such efforts.

“The work that has been done to restore vehicle access to Sanibel Island has been historic,” the governor said.

Sanibel Island is home to about 6,300 people. The storm killed more than 100 people in Florida, many of them in Lee County, where Sanibel and its famed seashell beaches are a major tourist destination.

One lifelong Sanibel resident, Troy Thompson, said having the causeway back will really help the barrier island because so much recovery work remains.

“The causeway is our lifeline. It means everything to get it back,” said Thompson, operations manager at his family’s Lazy Flamingo restaurant.

The governor’s office said 100 crews worked around the clock to repair the causeway, which includes three separate bridges. Workers used 8,200 loads of fill dirt, 2,400 loads of rock, and 4,000 tons of asphalt.