HIGHWAY ACCIDENT REPORT--COLLAPSE OF A SUSPENDED SPAN OF INTERSTATE ROUTE 95 HIGHWAY BRIDGE OVER THE MIANUS RIVER, GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT, JUNE 28, 1983

At 1:30 a.m., e.d.t., on June 28, 1983, a 100-foot-long suspended span between piers 20 and 21 of the eastbound traffic lanes of the Interstate Route 95 highway bridge over the Mianus River in Greenwich, Connecticut, collapsed and fell 70 feet into the river below. Two tractor-semitrailers and two automobiles plunged into the void in the bridge and were destroyed by impact from the fall. Three vehicle occupants died, and three received serious injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the collapse of the Mianus River bridge span was the undetected lateral displacement of the hangers of the pin and hanger suspension assembly in the southeast corner of the span by corrosion-induced forces due to deficiencies in the State of Connecticut's bridge safety inspection and bridge maintenance program.

• Corporate Authors:

  National Transportation Safety Board

  Bureau of Accident Investigation, 800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20594
• Publication Date: 1984-7-19

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 111 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge superstructures; Corrosion; Dislocation (Geology); Failure; Fatalities; Highway bridges; Inspection; Maintenance; Structural supports
• Uncontrolled Terms: Bridge spans; Hangers
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Safety and Human Factors; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls; I80: Accident Studies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00394043
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: NTSB/HAR-84/03, HS-037 773
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: May 31 1985 12:00AM