The main traffic artery connecting New England and New York will be closed in Connecticut for several days after a tanker fire damaged a bridge on Interstate 95, Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday.
The gasoline-filled tanker truck caught fire in a three-vehicle crash Thursday on I-95 in southwest Connecticut, closing the East Coast’s main north-south highway and causing major traffic jams .
Lamont said there were no serious injuries in the 5:30 a.m. crash in Norwalk. But the accident caused damage to the bridge above, which the governor said will need to be demolished and replaced.
THIS IS A LATEST UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A tanker truck filled with gasoline caught fire in a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 95 in southwest Connecticut, closing the East Coast’s main north-south highway Thursday and causing major traffic jams.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said there were no serious injuries in the 5:30 a.m. crash in Norwalk. But the crash happened under a bridge that the governor said will likely need to be replaced, making it unclear when the highway might reopen.
Text message alerts were sent to residents of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey and trucking companies that use the main artery from New York to New England were asked to find routes and transportation alternatives, he said. US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was also briefed.
“I know what an incredible inconvenience this is for people and all I can ask you to do is stay away from this area as best you can,” Lamont said during a briefing at Hartford. “The traffic jams are terrible. »
Traffic was backed up for dozens of kilometers during the morning rush hour and the crash left other highways and secondary roads in gridlock. The area’s main alternate route, the Merritt Parkway, cannot be used by trucks because the highway’s underpasses are too low.
The accident is reminiscent of last years fatal crash in Philadelphia along I-95 when a tractor-trailer carrying gasoline lost control and caught fire, destroying a section of the highway.
Thursday’s accident happened under the Fairfield Avenue bridge. THE the viaduct was damaged but did not appear to be in danger of collapsing, said Scott Hill, chief engineer for the Connecticut Department of Transportation.
But after engineers were sent to assess the damage, the governor’s office said Thursday afternoon that the bridge will likely need to be replaced. In the meantime, slow diversions were put in place, directing traffic away from the highway and around the accident site.
Lamont planned to provide an update on the condition of the highway at 5 p.m.
Utility crews were also working to replace downed cables and crews also had to unload about 3,000 gallons (about 11,400 liters) of gasoline that remained on the tanker truck, which was carrying a load of about 8,500 gallons ( about 32,000 liters) when it crashed, officials said. said.
“Gasoline can really heat up the deck and cause the steel to warp,” Hill said. “Once we understand everything associated with the safety of the traveling public and what we can and cannot do, we will provide you with further updates.”
Environmental crews were also working to clean up the gasoline and firefighting foam. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said the runoff was contained in a retention pond and was not flowing into the Norwalk River.
The crash came just over a year after a similar crash on Interstate 95 in Connecticut forced the highway to close.
In April 2023, another fuel truck caught fire after colliding with a car stopped on the Gold Star Memorial Bridge between New London and Groton. The tanker driver was killed. The accident closed the south side of the bridge for hours, while the north side was closed briefly. The driver of the car was recently charged with negligent homicide.
——
Associated Press writer Dave Collins contributed to this report.
