A bridge that was damaged during a fiery crash on Interstate 95 in Norwalk last week has been demolished and now plans are being made to reconstruct and rebuild it.
Gov. Ned Lamont gave an update about the Fairfield Avenue Bridge on Monday morning with Connecticut Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto and other state and local officials.
Over the weekend, Eucalitto said crews were beginning to finalize the preliminary plan for rebuilding the bridge.
There is no estimate for when the work could start because it is dependent on materials. The goal is to have the design finalized within the next few weeks with a ribbon cutting within a year.
During that year, officials said there will be various lane closures at times, but it will not be as disruptive as the highway closure this past weekend.
Crews worked around the clock to demolish the bridge after it was damaged during a crash and fire on Thursday morning.
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The work included removing concrete, steel and debris from the road, sweeping the road, milling, paving and restriping the pavement markings. Crews and equipment were brought in from out of state to help with the work.
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State police said a Chevrolet Camaro was entering I-95 south from Route 7 when it hit the front of a fuel truck that was in the right lane on Thursday morning. That collision caused the fuel truck to veer into the center lane and hit a tractor-trailer truck in the lane.
After the collision, state police said the fuel truck burst into flames under the Fairfield Avenue overpass and the other two vehicles caught on fire. The heat from the fire damaged the overpass and the bridge. No injuries were reported.
The northbound side of the highway reopened on Saturday evening and the southbound side of the highway reopened shortly before 10 a.m. on Sunday. The state originally estimated it would be Monday morning before the highway would fully reopen.
State and local officials are working with the federal government to try to get the costs for the bridge covered. Including clean up and rebuilding, it is estimated that the cost will be about $20 million.
