Gov. Lamont, Local Officials Give New Update On I-95 Bridge Replacement, Traffic

NORWALK, CT — Heavy traffic could be seen Friday afternoon throughout the city and across Interstate 95 as work replacing the Fairfield Avenue Bridge in Norwalk, which was damaged early Thursday morning by a fiery crash involving a tanker truck carrying gasoline, is underway.

During a press update Friday afternoon, Governor Ned Lamont said the goal remained to reopen I-95 in both directions in time for the Monday morning commute.

He also thanked each state, local, emergency response and Department of Transportation worker who has worked tirelessly to tear down and replace the damaged bridge since the crash occurred Thursday around 5:30 a.m.

Lamont noted he has spoken with both U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal about receiving federal support for the sudden replacement project.

"My only advice is...stay away," Lamont said. "Stay away from this area for at least another 72 hours. Take the train [or] stay home. I think you're going to save yourself a lot of stress."

Mayor Harry Rilling said he was "totally impressed" with Norwalk's fire and police departments, as well as state officials and the governor's office, for their fast response to the situation.

"This is a team effort," Rilling said, "and where we are today is remarkably further than I thought we would be when this first happened, so we're excited that this is moving forward and I want to just thank everybody that took a part in this and made sure that we were going to get this done."

In a separate prepared statement, Lamont said work to remove the damaged structure began Friday around 8:30 a.m., and crews will continue working on the project around the clock through the weekend.

Once the bridge is removed, sections of I-95 will be milled and paved in both directions in the area, Lamont said.

All lanes of I-95 northbound and southbound in Norwalk will remain closed until further notice, and I-95 northbound is closed to all traffic at exit 14. I-95 southbound is closed to all traffic at exit 15, according to Lamont.

Travelers are urged to avoid the area and use public transportation services. Commercial vehicles should use I-84 as an alternate route through Connecticut, Lamont said.

Metro-North Railroad has agreed to provide additional weekend service and increased capacity on trains along the New Haven Line. Full schedules and details can be found at new.mta.info.

State Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto said the DOT is currently working with contractors to demolish the existing bridge.

"Quite a lot of work has been done in just the last few hours," Eucalitto said. "Once the concrete is removed from the structure, we have equipment on the way, large shears that will be able to remove the actual beams from the bridge. Once that is completed, we will then be able to remove debris and then we will be able to resurface the roadway, hopefully opening up in time for rush hour morning traffic Monday morning."

He also thanked Norwalk and state police for providing traffic control to allow crews to do their work.

"My request to the public would be to please be patient," Eucalitto said. "We have seen instances of people getting frustrated with the queues of traffic, try to get around those crews, actually entering into our work zones, putting contractors and DOT workers at risk, so I need people to be patient, try and avoid the area. I encourage people to take the train into Norwalk to visit some of the restaurants and bars if you can. Patronize the businesses who might be impacted."

In response to the significant structural damage to both I-95 and the overpass that expands the width of the highway, Lamont declared a state of emergency Thursday evening.

Blumenthal assured Connecticut residents the cost of the bridge replacement was going to be borne by the feral government.

"The money is there. It doesn't have to be appropriated, it doesn't have to be authorized," Blumenthal said. "There is Federal Highway Administration money there for an emergency relief designed to meet exactly this need, and we are going to be writing as a delegation to the Federal Highway Administration, which is part of the federal Department of Transportation. We're going to be demanding money to cover all of the cost, probably in the tens of millions of dollars, at least $20 million, and we have every assurance that the Department of Transportation will provide this emergency relief so none of the cost is borne by Connecticut taxpayers. The federal highway administration has money already appropriated for exactly this kind of purpose, and it's used elsewhere in the country. Connecticut should have its fair share."

Effects On Norwalk

Blumenthal noted state officials were "looking into the economic effects" the repair work could have on local businesses.

"This could be a real hardship for some of the businesses," Blumenthal said. "We're looking into the possibility of loans that might be available, obviously at minimal interest, from either FEMA or the [Small Business Administration]. We're exploring that possibility."

Patch reached out to several local businesses Friday morning regarding impacts the weekend construction may have on them but did not receive responses prior to publication.

See also: Bridge Damaged By Fuel Truck Crash On I-95 To Be Replaced: Gov. Lamont

Eucalitto said the goal was currently to replace the bridge over I-95 in "a little over a year." A portion of Fairfield Avenue runs across the top of the bridge.

Rilling urged residents to be patient while construction is taking place.

"It is what it is. We have to live with it," Rilling said. "It's not ideal, but we understand that. It was closed before when they were reconstructing the bridge eight years ago, and it will be a little bit of an inconvenience...that we're going to have to deal with."

Heavy traffic could be seen in many areas across Norwalk late Friday morning, including along East Avenue and down through the Wall Street area of the city. Traffic could also be seen backed up on the southbound side of I-95.

Update 12:10 PM - crews are working on demolishing both sides of the Fairfield Ave overpass. We remind motorists to avoid the area. @Norwalk_CT pic.twitter.com/TKY6j5mvZa
— Norwalk, CT Police (@NorwalkCtPD) May 3, 2024

Lamont said the results of a state police investigation should be available soon, however there were no further updates to report as of Friday afternoon.

The crash involved a fuel truck carrying gasoline, a tractor trailer and a car, however each driver was able to safely exit their vehicle and was uninjured, according to Deputy Fire Chief Timothy Reardon.

Eucalitto said Thursday the bridge was less than 10 years old, however it was majorly damaged as a result of the crash.

"The damage was pretty severe due to the amount of gasoline that was in the tanker ignited directly underneath the bridge structure," Eucalitto said. "The steel did begin to overheat and warp, and it is a continuous beam bridge, which means the beams go across both spans of the highway. Unfortunately it's not able to be safely reopened in either direction underneath that bridge."

Average daily traffic volume through that area of I-95 is about 160,000 in both directions combined, according to Eucalitto.

According to a Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection spokesperson, approximately 4,000 gallons of gasoline spilled and burned away as a result of the crash, and approximately 4,000 gallons remained on the truck that was later recovered.

The spokesperson also noted DEEP believes there was no dangerous impact to air quality as a result of the burned gasoline, nor was the Norwalk River or the harbor impacted.

Fire Response

In a news release Thursday, Reardon said Norwalk firefighters were called to I-95 southbound between exits 16 and 15 after receiving a report of a motor vehicle accident and "multiple vehicle fires" around 5:30 a.m.

According to Reardon, the initial call reported a petroleum truck fully engulfed in fire was located beneath an overpass.

When crews arrived, they determined a freight tractor trailer, a tanker truck and a passenger vehicle were all involved in the crash and on fire, Reardon said.

The tractor trailer and car were located 150 feet east of the Fairfield Avenue overpass, while the tanker truck was found directly under the Fairfield Avenue overpass, Reardon said.

According to Deputy Fire Chief Steve Shay, the back of the tanker truck, which was carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline, slit open and ignited.

The tractor trailer and vehicle fires were quickly extinguished, Reardon said. Three master streams were deployed on both sides of the bridge to cool off the bridge and tanker to prevent a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion.

Norwalk-based King Industries' foam unit was also called to the area to supply a large amount of firefighting foam, according to Reardon.

The fire was extinguished within an hour, however the incident caused extensive damage to the Fairfield Avenue overpass bridge, Reardon said.

A firefighter was also taken to Norwalk Hospital with a leg injury, Reardon said.