NORWALK, Conn. — The northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Norwalk have reopened.
The news that the northbound lanes would reopen by 8 p.m. Saturday was announced by Gov. Ned Lamont and Transportation Commissioner Garret Eucalitto earlier that evening.
Crews from the state’s Department of Transportation and contractors stayed at the site of the Fairfield Avenue Bridge on Friday night and worked into the early hours of Saturday morning. They stayed after additional equipment necessary to remove the damaged bridge arrived on scene, according to a release from Lamont.
Crews completed the demolition of the bridge around 12:30 on Saturday, the release noted.
Once the demolition was completed, crews began working to clean up the debris and materials from the bridge off the highway and began making necessary repairs to the highway to ensure it is safe for vehicular traffic, according to the release.
The estimate that the northbound lanes of I-95 will reopen to vehicles by 8 p.m. Saturday was made by the state’s Department of Transportation, the release said, adding that all southbound lanes of the highway will remain closed to vehicles through the day on Sunday because the pavement on that side of the highway was so damaged from Thursday’s crash and fire that those lanes need to be milled and repaved.
Commercial vehicles are still asked to continue using alternate routes through Fairfield County until further notice, the release said.
Lamont said he is encouraged by the progress crews have made in Norwalk, especially considering that early reports estimated that both sides of the highway wouldn’t reopen until Monday morning.
“Completely removing that bridge in less than 36 hours is an impressive feat and is credit to the hard work and dedication of the contractors and Connecticut Department of Transportation crews, who are pushing to get the entire highway fully reopened in both directions by Monday morning,” Lamont said, in the release.
Eucalitto said that he is thankful for the CTDOT crews and contractors who are working as hard as they can to get the highway reopened.
“They made great progress today, and I remain optimistic that we will meet our Monday morning deadline,” Eucalitto said, in the release. “I ask the public to remain patient with the ongoing traffic congestion and to continue using alternate routes and public transportation throughout the weekend.”
RELATED: I-95 in Norwalk closed following fiery 3-vehicle crash, overpass to be demolished: Officials
Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling remarked that he is completely impressed with the response from the Norwalk Fire Department, the Norwalk Police Department, and the State of Connecticut, including Lamont’s office, CTDOT, the state’s Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, and the Connecticut State Police.
“The fact that there were no injuries from the accident and that crews are working incredibly quickly to remove the bridge so we can reopen I-95 in both directions as soon as possible is a testament to Gov. Lamont’s leadership and the high level of collaboration between each agency and level of government. I also want to thank our Norwalk residents and business community for their patience, as I know these temporary closures have been a complete inconvenience to their lives,” Rilling said.
In the release, drivers are asked to be patient and follow all posted signage.
To view the latest traffic alerts and roadway updates in the state, the public can visit CTroads.org.
The release said a live video feed showing the ongoing work can be accessed at https://share.earthcam.net/CTDOTNorwalkbridge.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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