Crews Demolish Connecticut I-95 Overpass Damaged During Fuel Truck Inferno

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A bridge damaged in a fiery crash that kept Interstate 95 in Connecticut closed Thursday and Friday has been demolished.

A live camera operated by the Connecticut Department of Transportation on Saturday showed excavators and bucket loaders scooping up rubble from the destroyed Fairfield Avenue overpass above I-95 in Norwalk and dumping it into large containers and dump trucks to be hauled away.

Crews started tearing down the bridge on Friday morning and work, including the repaving of damaged parts of the roadway, was expected to last through the weekend.

Workers are aiming to get all six lanes of traffic on the interstate, which is the main artery linking New England and New York, reopened before rush hour Monday morning.

The bridge was scorched Thursday morning after a gasoline tanker collided into two other vehicles and burst into flames.

State police said a car was merging from the right lane when it struck the gas truck, which was carrying 8,500 gallons (32,000 liters) of fuel. The truck then hit a tractor trailer in another lane and caught fire. Nobody was seriously injured, and no charges have been filed.

About 160,000 vehicles travel daily on the affected stretch of I-95.

The bridge removal and road repairs could cost about $20 million, with the state’s congressional delegation asking the Federal Highway Administration for emergency funds to pay all the expenses.