Fiery Crash Close I-95 in Connecticut, Highway Will Be Shut Down for Days
A section of I-95 in Connecticut near the Harvard Avenue exit in Old Greenwich
A section of Interstate 95 in Connecticut – a portion of the main artery along the East Coast of the United States from Maine to South – will remain closed for several days after a tanker containing thousands of gallons of fuel ignited an intense fire that damaged an overpass that crosses over the highway, state officials said.
I-95 is one of America’s busiest highways and the accident disrupted a crucial motor link between New England and New York City.
The crash took place on Thursday at 5:30 a.m. It occurred on the southbound side of the interstate in Norwalk, between Exits 15 and 14, under an overpass. It involved two tractor-trailer trucks, one carrying fuel, and one automobile, and did not result in any serious injuries. The resultant fire damaged the overpass so badly that it needed to be demolished. Engineers found the overpass “to be incredibly unstable.”
“The heat from the burning fuel compromised some of the bridge, so that bridge is going to have to come down,” said Governor Ned Lamont, referring to the now-compromised overpass.
The situation caused on Friday a nightmarish commute. Social media channels and local television news stations showed footage of clogged exit ramps and congested alternative roadways, and local officials were telling drivers may want to add an hour or more to their journeys due to the disruption.
The closure affected. Norwalk Public Schools, which canceled all classes on Friday. However, school officials said that some after-school activities, including prom, would move forward as planned. Public schools in Stamford and Darien began classes on a two-hour delay.
As of Saturday morning, progress was being made, but the damage is so extensive that the cost to repair and reopen could exceed $20 million. Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal promised federal funds would cover the tab.
The crash is the second within the period of a year to result in the closure of a major section of I-95. Last year, in June, a tanker carrying gasoline in northeast Philadelphia crashed, causing a portion of the highway to collapse.
A tanker driver was on an offramp of I-95 North when a crash or other incident sparked a fire below the highway exit, which ran overhead. The tanker, which was believed to have been carrying gasoline as its cargo, caught fire and the resultant inferno caused that section of the roadbed to collapse.
That closure was originally expected to take months to repair but the highway reopened in less than two weeks.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
