| Gold Star Memorial Bridge | |
|---|---|
 View under the bridge | |
| Carries | Interstate 95 |
| Crosses | Thames River |
| Locale | New London, Connecticut |
| Official name | Gold Star Memorial Bridge |
| Other name(s) | Gold Star Bridge |
| Owner | ConnDOT |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Twin-span deck truss bridges |
| Material | Steel |
| Total length | 5,931 feet |
| Width | 80 feet |
| Height | 135 feet |
| Longest span | 540 feet |
| History | |
| Opened |
1943 1973 |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | None |
The Gold Star Memorial Bridge, somtimes referred to as the Gold Star Bridge is a pair of twin-span deck truss bridges that carry Interstate 95 over the Thames River in New London, Connecticut. The bridges are the longest bridges in the state of Connecticut at just under 6,000 feet in total length. The bridge's southbound span has a sidewalk/bike path accessible from Bridge St and Riverview Ave on the Groton side and Williams Street on the New London side. The bridges are nearly identical in design - the only difference is the location of the arch in the truss configuration, but even this difference is minor and therefore not observable to the non-detail oriented eye.
History[]
The bridge was originally constructed in 1943 as a single span.
In 1951, the bridge was designated as the Gold Star Memorial Bridge in honor of members of the Armed Forces from Groton, New London, and Waterford who lost their lives during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.
In 1958, the Route 1 bypass containing the Gold Star Bridge was connected to the Connecticut Turnpike by extending west to what is today the interchange of Interstates 95 and 395 in East Lyme.
East of the bridge, a 13-mile (21 km) bypass of Route 184 was completed to the Rhode Island border on December 12, 1964, officially making the bridge part of Interstate 95.
The bridge's second span was completed in 1973. at this point, the original span underwent a partial rebuild, and was reopened in 1975. 75.
On April 21, 2023 a truck carrying heating oil collided with a vehicle on the southbound bridge, killing one person, the driver of the oil truck, and injuring at least two more. The crash dumped approximately 2,200 gallons of oil onto the bridge,[citation needed] which caught on fire. Initially, authorities believed the fire spread to buildings below the bridge, although later stated that it only spread to adjacent brush. The fire was initially reported as a one alarm fire however at 11:07 AM it was raised to a two alarm.[citation needed] Following the crash, the Connecticut Department of Transportation shut down the southbound bridge to traffic, awaiting for engineers to confirm the bridge's structural integrity. The bridge reopened to automobile traffic later that day. The pedestrian/cyclist section of the bridge remained closed, giving those users no way to cross the Thames River. It took 23 days of this closure before announcement of shuttle service provided to pedestrians and cyclists, which would be available 6 AM until 5 PM, daily.