I was counsel to the estate of the young man who died as a result of the Mianus River Bridge collapse, which happened 30 years ago. In that case, the State of Connecticut was negligent when it failed to properly inspect and repair the Mianus River Bridge. Now, in part due to the recent Transportation for America study, it is clear that the State is on notice of the structurally deficient nature of 102 bridges in Fairfield County alone. Three of these bridges are specifically in the Greenwich/Stamford/Norwalk stretch of I-95. This is particularly important because more than 100,000 people a day drive over these bridges.
It is imperative that the state move to repair these bridges now before another tragedy happens, but how do we pay for the necessary funding?
Halting the diversion of funds away from the maintenance of bridges is a necessary first step. Placing tolls on I-95 might increase revenue, but would cause colossal traffic back-ups. A solution, which would make sense at this particular time, is to have additional long term state bonding. The interest rates on bonds right now are near an all-time low.
Restoring our bridges to safety should be a first priority of the coming year’s legislative session.
Richard A. Silver, Esq.
 Silver Golub & Teitell LLP
Stamford