A fiery crash involving tanker carrying gas closes I-95 in Connecticut in both directions

Both sides of I-95, the East Coast’s main north-south highway, person been unopen down successful southwestern Connecticut

NORWALK, Conn. -- Both sides of I-95, the East Coast's main north-south highway, were unopen down successful southwestern Connecticut — causing “horrendous” postulation jams — pursuing an aboriginal greeting clang Thursday involving a rider car, a tractor-trailer and a tanker motortruck carrying 8,500 gallons (about 32,000 liters) of gasoline.

Connecticut Ned Lamont said determination were nary superior injuries. However, helium warned of monolithic postulation jams adjacent the Norwalk clang tract and urged drivers to debar the country oregon enactment home.

Text alerts were sent to residents of Connecticut and New York, and trucking companies were notified to find alternate routes and means of travel, helium said. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has besides been notified.

“I cognize what an unthinkable inconvenience this is for radical and each I tin inquire you to bash is enactment distant from that country arsenic champion you can,” helium said during a briefing successful Hartford. “The postulation jams are horrendous.”

The clang was reminiscent of past year's deadly mishap successful Philadelphia on I-95 erstwhile a tractor-trailer carrying gasoline mislaid power and caught fire, destroying a conception of the highway. In Thursday's accident, the overpass has been damaged but appeared to beryllium “stable and safe,” said Scott Hill, main technologist for the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

Hill said the constabulary probe into the 5:30 a.m. clang needs to beryllium finished earlier the authorities tin afloat measure the damage. Utility wires were downed, and crews request to decorativeness their enactment arsenic well.

“Gasoline tin truly vigor up and vigor the span up and origin the alloy to deform,” helium said. “Once we fig retired everything that’s associated with the information of the traveling nationalist and what we tin and can’t do, we’ll get much updates to you.”