[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 49 (Thursday, April 8, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S4015]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RE-OPENING I-95 IN CONNECTICUT

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise today in praise of the exemplary 
efforts of the construction and maintenance crews, engineers, and State 
and Federal transportation officials to quickly re-open Interstate 95 
in Bridgeport, Connecticut, last week after a devastating fire 
destroyed a portion of the highway. On behalf of the people of 
Connecticut, I offer them my deepest thanks for the hard work--and 
teamwork--that has restored a vital artery in our nation's 
transportation system faster than anyone thought possible.
  On Thursday evening, March 25, a car and a tanker truck collided 
while traveling along I-95 South in Bridgeport. The tanker truck, 
carrying 12,000 gallons of home heating oil, tipped over and slid along 
the barriers before stopping and, minutes later, the truck's contents 
ignited, sending flames 50 to 60 feet into the air. Remarkably, no one 
was killed or injured in the accident, and within 20 minutes 
firefighters had extinguished the blaze, but the damage had been done. 
Both the existing southbound bridge and a new bridge that had just been 
built alongside of it were severely damaged.
  I-95 in Connecticut--a traffic corridor of national significance that 
links New York City with Boston--was immediately shut down in both 
directions over a distance spanning several exits. This caused major 
traffic problems, especially for tractor-trailer drivers. Engineers 
determined that the northbound overpass could be shored up and made 
structurally sound again, and additional supports were erected to 
reinforce the northbound span, which was reopened to traffic on Sunday 
night, March 28. The southbound lanes, however, were beyond easy 
repair, and engineers concluded that a temporary bridge would have to 
be erected to support traffic on the southbound span of the highway. A 
temporary bridge was supplied by Acrow Corp of Carlstadt, NJ. It 
arrived in pieces and was assembled by crews from the Connecticut 
Department of Transportation, DeMatteo Construction, and Brunalli 
Construction. By Sunday morning, the skeleton of the temporary bridge 
had been fully assembled. A steel deck was then laid on top of it and 
the surface was paved. The southbound lanes of I-95 were reopened on 
Wednesday morning at 3:30 a.m.
  Approximately 120,000 vehicles pass over this span of I-95 every day, 
and officials initially estimated that the highway would be closed for 
three to four weeks. But the crews that performed the work managed to 
re-open it in just five days. This accomplishment cannot be overstated. 
I rise today to say thank you to the Connecticut DOT employees, Federal 
DOT officials, contractors and others who worked around the clock to 
make it possible. Your service to our State is deeply appreciated, and 
we commend you for your excellent work.

                          ____________________