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06:24 PM EST on Friday, March 26, 2004
The Associated Press
AP photo
An aerial view reveals a buckled stretch of I-95 in Bridgeport, Conn., caused by a fiery crash last night between a fuel truck and car. The damage is expected to close part of the heavily-traveled artery for up to two weeks.
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- A section of the main traffic artery linking New York and Boston could be shut down for up to two weeks following a fiery tanker truck accident that melted a bridge on Interstate 95, Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland said today.
``It's going to be a pain in the neck,'' Rowland said this morning after surveying the scene between exits 25 and 27.
State police said a car apparently forced a tanker truck carrying 12,000 gallons of fuel oil into a guardrail, sparking a huge fire that burned for a couple of hours and damaged both sides of the highway last night.
No one was seriously injured.
Ronald Jantzen, a state Department of Transportation engineer, said the highway buckled and the overpass, which was new, sagged several feet. He described the southbound side of the interstate as ``totaled.'' He said the northbound lanes may be salvageable but engineers could not get close enough to take measurements this morning.
``All we've been able to do is stand around it and say, `Oh my God,''' Jantzen said.
Commuters along the I-95 corridor were left with few alternatives today.
Metro-North Railroad braced for more riders and the possibility that portions of I-95 will be closed for weeks.But the crowded commuter line is recovering from breakdowns that plagued its aging fleet this winter, and already had every available car in operation.
"If necessary, we will have some express trains make some local stops," a Metro-North spokeswoman said.
After touring the site this morning, Rowland said he would declare a state of emergency, which would make the project eligible for some federal funding. He said that work to reopen the highway would begin immediately and was expected to take at least 12 to 14 days at a cost of $3 million to $4 million.
Art Greuhn, the chief engineer for the state DOT, said crews would begin demolishing the southbound bridge today.
Authorities said the fire damaged the steel support beams that carry both sides of the highway over Howard Avenue.
``It was such an intense heat that it melted the bridge,'' said Wallace Thomas, Bridgeport's deputy fire chief. ``Once it sagged, it made a pool of burning fuel oil.''
I-95 is a vital and heavily congested artery connecting the New York City area with Connecticut and the rest of New England. Nearly 120,000 vehicles a day travel the span where the crash occurred.
State officials urged motorists, especially tractor-trailer drivers, to avoid I-95 and the Bridgeport area until the highway is fixed.
Southbound traffic was being diverted to Route 25 and the Merritt Parkway, a historic highway that is closed to commercial truck traffic. Broadcast reports said several tractor-trailers tried to use the Merritt but were stopped by police.
Trucks southbound on I-95 were sent to Route 8 and Interstate 84. But a tractor-trailer jackknifed on that the northbound side of Route 8 this morning, adding to the traffic nightmare.
Northbound cars and trucks were being rerouted through city streets and back onto Interstate 95.
The Metro-North commuter railroad between Connecticut and New York City planned to have express trains make some local stops if necessary.
Vance urged commercial truck traffic from New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts to enter Connecticut on I-84 or not at all.
I-95 has been the scene of many traffic disasters over the years, including a crash last year that killed four Yale University students and the 1983 Mianus River Bridge collapse in Greenwich that killed three people.
The truck driver in yesterday's accident and a firefighter appeared to be the only people who required medical attention.
The truck driver, Gilbert Robinson, 33, of Naugatuck, was treated at Bridgeport Hospital and released. He declined to comment when reached by telephone this morning. Robinson was driving a 2000 Mack owned by Island Transport of Connecticut and Long Island, N.Y.
An unidentified firefighter was overcome by fumes and brought to the hospital for observation.
Robinson was driving south on I-95 when his truck and another vehicle crashed shortly before 8 p.m. Witnesses said they heard explosions and saw a gigantic fireball shoot into the sky.
State police identified the driver of the car involved in the accident as Sarah Waddle of Derby. No charges were immediately filed.
U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, a Republican who represents the Fairfield County area, said he would tour the accident site. He said he was working with city and state officials to ensure the state had access to federal experts.
``I feel very confident the state has the capability to figure out what has to be done to make this as painless as possible,'' he said.
Authorities believe more than 8,000 gallons of No. 2 fuel oil spilled from the tanker. The oil that didn't burn seeped into storm drains in the road below and into Black Rock Harbor. Coast Guard officials used a buoy system to control the contamination.
Officials from the Department of Environmental Protection were assessing the damage, which they called minor.
From The Providence Journal
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