Fiery crash closes I-95 (for weeks?)

Greenwich Time ^

[BikePacker]

Tanker explodes in Bridgeport; road could be shut for weeks

BRIDGEPORT -- The crash of a fuel oil tanker sparked a major fire on an elevated section of Interstate 95 last night, closing both lanes for this morning's commute - and likely for weeks to come.

The driver of the truck suffered minor injuries and appeared to be the only person who required medical attention. He was identified early today as Gilbert Robinson, 33, of Naugatuck. He was treated at Bridgeport Hospital and released.

"Rush hour is going to be a nightmare," said Gov. John Rowland, who was flown by helicopter to the scene last night. The highway is a crucial artery through the state and connects New York to Connecticut and the rest of New England.

State engineers immediately began assessing the damage, and local and state officials were developing a plan early this morning to guide commuters to alternate routes.

[Eala]

(for weeks?)

Yes. We had a similar situation on I-5 in WA state a while back when a tanker burned on an overpass. They were worried about the overpass' structure being compromised by the heat. (We were lucky...)

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

The road will be closed for a year at least.

When a span of I-95 collapsed in Cos Cob, CT around 1983, traffic was diverted for over a year.

[So Cal Rocket]

Portions of the Santa Monica Freeway collapsed in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. It was rebuilt in only 12 weeks (construction on a 24/7 basis)

[johnny7]

Yea... but it'll be more than a couple of weeks. Fire was so hot it melted part of the overpass superstructure. Looking at months on a job like this.

In MA, the rebuilding of the city bridge over the Chicopee River is scheduled to take a year and a half!

Up in The Peopleswealth of MA, our unions build them slow and expensively.

[John H K]

Yep, the reconstruction times seem ridiculous on these...I can't see why the Army Corps of Engineers can't be brought in.

I can see Patton being told "It's gonna take us a year to rebuild this bridge."

Now, granted, in a military context you have lower safety thresholds, no environmental impact statements, etc. But it seems as a society if we want to rebuild part of I-95 really fast we should be able to do it.

This apparently is an actual bridge, rather than elevated highway like I-10, so it should take longer, but not THAT much longer.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Yes I heard about this this morning; having lived in eastern CT such events really draw my attention.

I suppose they'll be driving the Merritt Pkwy now for a while. Which, minus the 95 traffic, is a beautiful highway (and literally more straight-forward than 95, which has some dastardly curves). Of course now it will probably be a traffic nitemare.

[CatoRenasci]

It's going to be several weeks at least according to local radio news.

At leat no one was seriously injured!

In other ways, this is worse the the Mianus River Bridge collapes in '83, in that there is no easy direct detour (in '83, you got off at exit 4 (N bound) went to the Post Road to exit 5 and got back on I95, or off at exit 5 (SB) and back on at exit 4.

[Jim Noble]

The structure that was compromised is very large (basically a flyover for all of what's left of downtown Bridgeport).

If it has to be rebuilt, it will take a long time.

[shadeaud]

Commerce will be affected and prices will rise in the North-East and the libs will claim it's all Bush's fault.

[BikePacker]

In MA, the rebuilding of the city bridge over the Chicopee River is scheduled to take a year and a half!

Ahh yes... the "Singing Bridge" is gonna be muzzled.
'Bout time!

[Jim Noble]

In other ways, this is worse the the Mianus River Bridge collapes in '83, in that there is no easy direct detour

But now, if you want to buy drugs, it should be much easier. Get off at exit 26 (Wordin Avenue), drive right to the 24/7 open-air drug market, do your thing, and drive out to Beardsley Street (exit 29) to get back on!

Glad I could help!

[lelio]

We had a similar situation on I-5 in WA state a while back when a tanker burned on an overpass.

Thankfully that was only closed for a couple of hours / days. Repairs lasted for a while.

However we do have a history of using roadways that are probably in danger of being shut down. Remeber the earthquake from a couple of years ago? The bridge over to Magnolia was closed down as it was unsafe. Then it was reopened as there's no other easy way to get over there.

However the fire there was put out somewhat quickly thanks to a Boeing fire truck nearby. How long did this Bridgeport one burn for?

[StevieB]

The All-Time Champ for Interstate first still has to be New Jersey. In the late '80s a fire broke out underneath the freeway -- eight lanes wide at the point -- as it crossed over the industrial area and train tracks leading up to the US1 intersection.

Source of the fire? An illegal pile of recycled papers and trash being stored underneath the overpass bridge! Took months to rebuild the road.

[Alberta's Child]

Prediction: The road will be closed for no more than three weeks.

The disaster you described involved the collapse of the bridge over the Mianus River. Because they had to investigate the incident and replace an entire structure, the job took a long time.

Yesterday's incident is almost identical to a tanker fire on I-80 in northern New Jersey a few years ago. Because they basically just have to replace damaged beams and re-deck the brigde, it shouldn't anything close to a year.

[JimRed]

Yea... but it'll be more than a couple of weeks.

You're right; it'll take longer than that to get the permits!

[OXENinFLA]

OMG!!!

[BluH2o]

Lived in CT for a number of years. Drove over this bridge countless times. The bridge carries I-95 traffic over a portion of Bridgeport Harbor. It curves as it does so and as a result has been the scene of many traffic accidents. Truckers, especially in the southbound lane, scrape the outside retaining barrier frequently. My expectation is this will take several months to repair based on my experience with the I-95 bridge collapse in Cos Cob CT back in the early '80's. That repair took over a year as I recall.

[freeperfromnj]

This was posted by Honestly on the Threat Matrix thread. You may find it of interest.

"Found on the wfsb.com site while reading about the tanker crash"

BRIDGEPORT -- A terror threat targets Connecticut's busiest stretch of highway, the Interstate-95 corridor in Bridgeport. State police began stepping up security in the area Thursday.

The response is a coordinated effort between local and state police, the Coast Guard, and Homeland Security.

http://www.wfsb.com/global/story.asp?s=1738716&ClientType=Printable

[Fierce Allegiance]

This structure is a short (newly built) span. The plan is to close up the sides, fill it in with gravel and pave it over. I would be very surprised if it takes a week, I predict by thursday the old structure will be gone and a new temporary stretch operational.

As the area is under construction, they will probably rebuild exactly what was there in phases over the next year

I am bumming because i was supposed to go down to one of my site jobs in norwalk today, and cancelled. traffic is going to suck for a while.