Here is a couple of nasty road accidents that have been around here:
Early on the morning of June 28, 1983, a 100-foot section of the northbound Mianus River Bridge collapsed, sending vehicles 70 feet into the river below and killing three people. The bridge used a "pin-and-hanger" design commonly used in 1950's-era highway spans that lowered construction costs. The failure of the steel pins that held the horizontal beams together caused the span to fall into the river. at the time of the collapse, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) had only 12 engineers, working in two-man teams, to inspect the state's 3,425 bridges.
Another tragic 1983 accident led to an important decision regarding the future of the Connecticut Turnpike. In January of that year, a tractor-trailer collided with three cars at the Stratford toll plaza, taking the lives of seven people and injuring many more. The accident prompted state officials to consider removing the eight barrier toll plazas on the turnpike.
On the evening of March 25, 2004, a southbound tanker truck carrying 9,000 gallons of fuel oil collided with an automobile, hit a concrete barrier and split open, emptying its cargo onto the bridge carrying I-95 over Howard Avenue in Bridgeport. The ensuing fire caused the southbound lanes of the bridge to fall four feet, while damage to the northbound lanes was limited.
Of course July 6, 1944 was
The Day the Clowns Cried in Hartford.
The worse thing was when we lost 65 Connecticut residents on 9/11. Many from my part of the state.
Fires, floods, construction accidents, hurricanes......
