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

NORWALK, CT — A fiery crash involving a fuel truck that shut down Interstate 95 in both directions early Thursday morning damaged a bridge that will need to be replaced immediately, halting two-way commuting on the interstate until at least Monday morning, according to Governor Ned Lamont.

During a press update held Thursday evening, Lamont said heat from the burning fuel compromised parts of the bridge and it will need to come down.

Demolition of the bridge, located near Exit 15 in Norwalk, is scheduled to begin Friday morning around 3 a.m., according to Lamont.

Lamont said lifting the bridge out would likely take 24 hours, possibly a little longer, after which workers will take a second look at repaving and making sure the road is safe and secure.

"If all goes well, and I'll monitor this, we should have two-way commuting back on I-95 as early as Monday morning," Lamont said, "which is heroic work."

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

"It is an emergency declaration," Lamont said. "I filed that with the feds just in the last hour hoping to get federal reimbursement for the replacement of the bridge. We ought to get some notification on that in the not too distant future, but first and foremost what we've got to do is get that bridge out of there, get two-way traffic going."

In a separate prepared statement, Lamont reiterated the overpass on I-95 in Norwalk is not safe for traffic to use the road at this time.

"Structural engineers have determined that this overpass needs to be demolished and the road needs to be repaved," Lamont said. "We are advising commuters to expect that this area of I-95 in Norwalk will remain closed at least through the weekend. This emergency declaration will help expedite some of the resources needed for us to respond to this situation. I strongly encourage everyone to avoid this area for at least the next few days while the highway remains closed and to stay alert for updates. We will continue to provide new information as it becomes available.”

The governor also noted congestion in and around that section of the highway into Norwalk is still heavy as of Thursday evening.

Mayor Harry Rilling, who was present in Hartford for the governor's press update, thanked everyone on a state and local level for their quick response to the emergency event, which did not result in any serious injuries or fatalities.

"This could have been so much worse," Rilling said. "We're very grateful that nobody was seriously injured. We're also very grateful for the response from the state of Connecticut, from our team, our police officers were out there, our firefighters were out there and took control of the situation rather quickly, and the response from the state has been really great, so we're optimistic that we're going to get moving forward, things will get back to normal in Norwalk as quickly as we possibly can."

The crash involved a fuel truck, 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.

In an effort to help reduce traffic as the bridge repair is underway, Rilling said he has scheduled staggered work times for city employees Friday so they can either come into work later or go home earlier. He is also asking a lot of city staff to work from home.

"We feel that will keep some of the traffic off the road," Rilling said. "We have extra officers on around the clock for the next couple of days, extra firefighters will be there for the next couple of days, so we think we've got everything under control and we're optimistic we're going to move forward with this and get through it."

Bridge Repair

State Department of Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto said the bridge was less than 10 years old but it was majorly damaged.

"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."

Eucalitto said a contractor will begin working Friday morning and is currently in the process of moving large equipment into Connecticut necessary to perform the demolition.

"We're hopeful that once we can start that work tomorrow morning we'll be able to have the bridge completely removed," Eucalitto said. "We'll work through the weekend and then hopefully have everything, as long as the weather holds out, have everything reopened for the commute on Monday morning."

According to Eucalitto, a portion of Fairfield Avenue, which is a local road, runs across the top of the bridge. He also noted building a temporary bridge over I-95 that would traverse that long of a distance is not possible.

Average daily traffic volume through the area is about 160,000 in both directions combined, Eucalitto said.

Connecticut State Police Col. Daniel Loughman noted no enforcement action has been taken in connection to the crash as of Thursday evening and said the investigation is ongoing.

He also asked drivers to continue to avoid the area and said a diversion plan is in place for commuters and truck operators on I-95.

"We are looking to keep all of the commercial vehicles off of the parkways," Loughman said. "We have troopers in the area to prevent them from entering those areas as well. We are out there. We're working to keep the roadways safe."

Eucalitto said the DOT has been in contact with other DOT offices down to Delaware and all the way up to Massachusetts to inform truckers to avoid I-95 so they do not hit heavy traffic in Connecticut.

A Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection spokesperson said 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 has since been 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.

Traffic Impacts Throughout Thursday

In a post Thursday morning on X, formerly Twitter, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said his highway team is "working closely with Connecticut's [Department of Transportation] on the tanker fire that has closed I-95 in Norwalk. Please heed local authorities on detours and avoid the area if possible. Thank you to the first responders who are dealing with the fire and keeping other drivers safe."

During a press update late Thursday morning at City Hall, Rilling said the city was very grateful the crash did not result in any serious injuries.

"This has been a very challenging day in the city of Norwalk," Rilling said, "and we know there's going to be a lot of questions about what happened, what's happening next and what we're going to be expecting...as of now and for the rest of the day most likely and who knows far into the future that I-95 will remain closed until we can get things straightened out."

Rilling said he received a call from Governor Ned Lamont earlier that morning, who recommended anyone who is able to work from home for the next couple of days as the city and state work to get the situation straightened out.

"We know that traffic is a mess right now...so we're asking everybody to be patient," Rilling said. "We'll be rerouting traffic as appropriate."

DOT Director of Highway Maintenance Don Remson said there were a lot of utilities underneath the bridge, which were being shut off so DOT workers could investigate the damage.

Richard Swan, assistant director of the Emergency Response Unit for DEEP, emphasized the foam used to fight the fire was green non-pfas foam.

"The runoff from the area was limited because of the amount of gas consumed in the fire," Swan said, "and we have been able to contain it to a retention pond behind the wall, and it did not make it to the Norwalk River at all. We do have absorbing boons in place, we have contractors on the river just as an added precaution because obviously this concerns the environment."

Police Chief James Walsh said closures began early Thursday morning at Exit 13, which heavily impacted traffic along Route 1.

"Currently where we are right now, we have multiple intersections that are impacted that run along adjacent to I-95," Walsh said. "We have held over adequate manpower planning forward...we also have seen an uptick in car accidents and some disturbances on the road, so we're asking for everybody's patience because we're going to have Norwalk residents heavily impacted by this."

Police also worked with Norwalk Public Schools, which will be closed Friday, to ensure students were able to leave school safely Thursday.

Around 1 p.m., police said on Facebook that Norwalk was still experiencing heavy delays and officers were stationed at various intersections throughout the city to help alleviate congestion.

According to police, the following roads in Norwalk were closed as of Thursday afternoon to help detour traffic throughout the city:

• Fairfield Avenue is closed from Cedar Street to Connecticut Avenue
• Cedar Street is closed eastbound from Connecticut Avenue to Fairfield Avenue and is closed both directions from Fairfield Avenue to Reed Street.
• Stuart Avenue is closed southbound from Connecticut Avenue to Reed Street.

During a previous press conference held Thursday morning, Lamont said the state's emergency operations center had sent out an alert to multiple nearby areas, from Port Chester, N.Y., to Bridgeport, advising travelers to stay away from the area of the crash in Norwalk.

"[It] is incredible in terms of the traffic jams and what's happening there," Lamont said.

Trucking companies were also notified and advised to use Interstate 87 or Interstate 84 as an alternative route.

"I know what an incredible inconvenience this is for people," Lamont said, "and all I can ask you to do is stay away from that area as best you can. The traffic jams are horrendous. We're on this right now."

Paul Rizzo, bureau chief for the Bureau of Highway Operations, said the state was working with Norwalk officials to reroute traffic around city streets, and detours had been set up on I-95 to move traffic around the incident.

"As the governor stated, traffic is really a nightmare down there," Rizzo said, "so we encourage the public to avoid the area. Utilize I-84 up to the Mass Pike as an alternate, also use public transportation if possible."

Rizzo also encouraged travelers to check ctroads.org for live traffic information.

The department also utilized message signs throughout Connecticut and into New York and Rhode Island to notify traffic of the incident.

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.