Highway Ramp in Enfield May Remain Closed a Few More Days

ENFIELD, CT — Repair work continues at the scene of a rollover crash Monday involving a gasoline tanker, and the Exit 49 ramp off Interstate 91 may remain closed for up to a few more days, officials said Thursday.

Enfield police confirmed the southbound on- and off-ramps are still closed on Route 5 near the Massachusetts border while Department of Energy and Environmental Protection workers test soil that may have been contaminated by the spill of more than 2,500 gallons of gasoline from a Pride tanker.

A large crater currently exists where truckloads of soil were removed, close to the Kalish Avenue neighborhood, and testing must be completed before new soil can be brought in to fill the hole, North Thompsonville Fire Department Chief Earl Provencher said.

Firefighters from all five Enfield districts, as well as some surrounding towns, were pressed into service for more than 30 straight hours immediately following the crash, and Provencher said businesses and individuals from the community were more than generous to the emergency personnel working at the scene.

In a Facebook post from the department, Provencher thanked "the wonderful businesses of Enfield that donated food and refreshments, Shop Rite, Pizza Palace, Dunkin Donuts, Russo’s, Domino’s, Red Robin and the folks who just passed by and felt a need to drop refreshments by that they bought."

Photo credit: Tim Jensen

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