I-95 fully reopened in Norwalk, Conn. after "quick turnaround" repairs caused by fiery truck crash
NORWALK, Conn. - Traffic was flowing on I-95 in Norwalk Monday.
The Interstate reopened Sunday after being shut down in both directions due to a fiery tractor-trailer crash. A burning fuel tanker roasted the Fairfield Avenue overpass, forcing the full closure.
Roughly 160,000 vehicles travel the impacted stretch on a typical day.
Demolition crews worked through the weekend to take down the damaged overpass. Drivers had been stuck in traffic for hours while I-95 was closed as they detoured onto local roads.
While the Interstate has reopened, Fairfield Avenue will remain closed for a year or more. Crews have begun preliminary field work to design the bridge that will replace the one that had to be demolished.
The crash happened early Thursday morning after a truck swerved to avoid a car, striking the back of a fuel tanker. The tanker then caught fire below the overpass. Thousands of gallons of fuel were spilled onto the highway. Although the fuel spill was contained, the fire badly damaged the overpass, forcing the shutdown in both directions for several days.
"Such a quick turnaround"
The rush of traffic on I-95 Monday was motorized music to the ears who worked so hard to reopen the road.
"It happened 10 o'clock [Sunday] morning, they opened this up. Remarkable this was done in such a quick turnaround," Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling said.
"This past weekend, just crazy," one driver said. "Now it's open, thank God."
"I have to go to court in Milford, and I was thinking I was never gonna make it if the bridge was closed. So I'm glad it's open," said another.
Some wondered why the fuel tanker driver stopped under Fairfield Avenue, instead of pulling forward 20 or 30 feet to have clear sky above his burning truck.
"I've thought about that too, myself. People have reminded me if I was driving a truck with 8,500 gallons of gasoline and I looked in my rearview and it was on fire, I'd probably pull over wherever and get out of that truck as quickly as possible," one driver said.
Connecticut's delegation in Washington, D.C. is pressing for federal funds to cover the estimated $20 million cost of clean up and construction of a replacement bridge. The City of Norwalk spent many thousands on overtime for cops and firefighters, and is also looking for reimbursement.