GROTON, Conn. (WTNH) — A deadly crash on the Gold Star Bridge in Groton prompted questions about the integrity of other bridges in Connecticut.

Crews are still working on the Gold Star Bridge four days after a fuel tanker went up in flames, killing the 42-year-old driver, Wallace Fauquet III of Gales Ferry.

The bridge, which carries over 60,000 vehicles daily, is the longest and largest bridge in the state, but just one of the hundreds that crews are working on.

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Josh Morgan, spokesperson for the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CT DOT), said that though the fire stretched hundreds of feet, it did not burn long enough, nor was it hot enough to cause structural damage. He said when crews looked up at the bridge, the paint on the steel beams was still intact, but DOT crews still performed several tests to ensure the public’s safety.

“They had their measurements,” Morgan told News 8. “They had their levels actually checking to see if there was any movement to the bridge. They were using their specialized hammer, doing some audio checks to see if there was any pitting or deformation from the steel caused by that fire.”

Inspectors said the damage was mostly kept to the top of the bridge, where 600 feet of aluminum fencing is now a temporary chain link fence.

Some travel lanes on Interstate 95 reopened within seven hours after Friday’s crash, but inspections and repairs continue 100 hours later.

“It’s one of the most critical pieces of infrastructure in eastern Connecticut,” Morgan said. “If our experts said, ‘you know, something isn’t right, let’s bring in an outside team and check this in the morning,’ we would have kept it closed for as long as we needed to.”

The Gold Star Bridge was rated poor in 2019. The southbound side, where the crash happened, underwent a major rehabilitation in 2018. The state recently received $158 million in federal funding to repair the bridge’s northbound side, which is expected to be complete in 2029.

“Poor does not mean that the bridge is on the verge of collapse,” Morgan told News 8. “That’s looking at the structure, the pavement deck conditions, that’s looking at a lot of factors. So, we do have hundreds of bridges in poor condition that are scheduled for replacement. We have billions of dollars in our five-year capital plan, and this is a nonstop battle for us to keep up.”

Morgan said that more than 90% of 4,400 bridges in Connecticut are in good shape, while an estimated 234 bridges are in poor condition.

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) said, “We are continuing to maintain the containment boom in the water. We’re also working towards being able to clean and wash the drainage system from the bridge to the outfall to the river to remove any residual oil and debris.”