Old Lyme bridge is trucker's nightmare

The result of that crumpled heap along I-95 in Old Lyme is an example of what some say they deal with all too often.

Crashes involving one particular bridge are all too common and folks who live near this bridge say they have seen it all too often.

The inconvenience of an accident is one thing but what they're most worried about is safety.

Most trucks are just inches from the beam of the I-95 bridge, a beam that has been hit before.

"Oh I cringe. I cringe everytime knowing it's just another accident waiting to happen," Beth Sullivane, of Old Lyme, said.

Luckily, no one was hurt when the container hit the highway Thursday without hitting any cars but the fear is that luck will run out.

"It always seems like the container part of the truck that hits and the cab is safe but for the cars behind it luck is going to run out," Sullivan said.

Those who live on Flat Rock Hill Road and drive over the bridge everyday are worried.

"There is about thirty homes here, thirty families, so if something, if something happened we cannot get out," Dawn McCarthy, of Old Lyme, said.

The state says any trucks that hit this bridge are breaking the law. That's because in Connecticut trucks can be no higher than 13 feet six inches. This bridge is fourteen feet.

Yellow signs mark the height of the bridge. It's fourteen feet heading Southbound on I-95 and 13 feet eleven inches heading Northbournd - a close call for many trucks.

"It's very dangerous on the highway. I don't even use the highway anymore because of that," John Oliver, of Old Lyme, said.

The DOT inspected the bridge after the accident Thursday, deeming it safe. It does plan to replace the damaged beam which has meant a lane restriction on the bridge above for years. When fixed News Channel 8 is told the bottom of the bridge will be raised to a safer level.

"It would be great to have this fixed. It would be," McCarthy said.