Remembering the Mianus River bridge collapse

The day before the 36th anniversary of the I-95 Mianus bridge collapse in Greenwich, State Police are pausing to remember the day.

As part of its Throwback Thursday feature on its web site, state police said “On June 28, 1983 shortly after 2 a.m. a 100 foot long section of the Connecticut Turnpike fell 65 feet to the Mianus River, killing three people and critically injuring three others.

“By some small miracle, the collapse occurred just moments after Sgt, Thomas Brown, of Westport, had driven over the span.

“A bridge collapse of this magnitude and dealing with the logistics of its aftermath boggles the mind. Between 80,000 and 100,000 travelers passed over the Mianus Bridge daily.

“The eastbound lanes were completely gone and the westbound lanes were ordered closed for fear that the bridge was unsafe.

“Traffic was detoured to Route 1, the Merritt Parkway and I-84, but neither the roads nor the area police departments were designed to deal with an overflow of nearly 100,000 vehicles.

“ Guess who was called in to help? That’s right! The Connecticut State Police were moved into the area in force to assist with traffic overflow and redirection as well as keep the peace.

“We remained on scene in this capacity until January 11, 1984.”

Here are some links to previous Hearst Connecticut Media stories on the collapse:

Then and now: I-95’s Mianus River Bridge collapse

Lessons of Mianus River Bridge collapse not...

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Remembering-the-Mianus-River-bridge-collapse-14055123.php