Throgs Neck Bridge Fire Causes Massive Traffic Snarl

NEW YORK (AP) -- A dawn fire under a major New York bridge created commuter chaos Friday, crippling rush-hour traffic for miles and leaving thousands of motorists stuck.

The 5 a.m. blaze started in a construction shed under the Throgs Neck Bridge that links the Bronx with Queens. It was early afternoon before the first traffic started moving -- but only in the Queens-bound lanes.

"I know New York has traffic, but I've never seen anything like this," said Jeff Sturza, who lives in Queens and didn't plan to use the bridge to get to a Brooklyn meeting.

But the snarled traffic turned what would have been a half-hour drive "into an almost four-hour one," he said, adding, "I was going crazy. It was bumper to bumper."

He passed the time by playing a Michael Jackson "Victory Tour" CD.

At the bridge, more than 130 firefighters doused the fire that was still smoldering at noon -- some on a boat pumping water from the East River, others from trucks. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries, officials said.

The construction shed where the fire occurred is part of a renovation project on the bridge. The flames spread to scaffolding that rises to the north side of the bridge, leading to the Bronx. Those lanes remained closed Friday afternoon.

Authorities said the cause of the fire was under investigation.

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Throughout the day, traffic was diverted to the Bronx Whitestone and RFK bridges.

More than 100,000 vehicles make the commute over the Throgs Neck Bridge on an average weekday. When it opened in 1961, the bridge was designed to ease congestion on the Whitestone, but traffic volume has more than doubled since then.

For 80-year-old Fred Manberg, sitting in a Queens park with a view of the bridge, the emergency was a chance "to see something different."

The retired Queens resident is a regular in Fort Totten Park, sunning himself while watching the boats pass by. On Friday, he brought along binoculars and stayed for hours after he first saw thick smoke rising above the bridge.

"Did you ever see 500 trucks in a row not moving?" he asked. "That's what it looked like."

Comments

[larry278]

Throgs Neck is the name given to a vegan dish that's supposed to replace chicken necks. Both are cheap, chewey & disgusting.

[stellapurdy]

I hate that bridge. Both the Throgs Neck and the Whitestone have been undergoing construction for God knows how long. The last place I'd want to be in a traffic jam is on one of those bridges.

[richracer]

This was the real test for NYC homeland security. They failed. Raising the bridge tolls is all they want to accomplish. They choked all of Long Island out of any evacuation plan. This was not a serious fire, but they chose to close everything down and block any exit for anyone to get out. It was chaos. I can't imagine what would happen if a real catastrophe had happened. It would have been 1000 fold. This fire could have been executed very quickly, and resume traffic as a priority, instead off blocking everything up and investigating the fire at a million other peoples expense. They created more danger than was present, and just added to the chaos.Homeland Security? Just more money for nothing, except those who would gain from this tom foolery. And by the way we don't need protection from terrorist as much as from inept government programs like Homeland Security. What a waste!!

[shthar]

"Throgs Neck Bridge Fire Causes Massive Traffic Snarl."

Man, I can't diagram that sentence nohow.

[Diogenis]

Sophia Petrillo says you can ask Dorothy to.

[LiberalBuzz]

Throgs Neck?

Really?

WHO came up with that name.

[NYC07]

It comes from John Throckmorton who was an Englishman who settleded there during the time NYC was controlled by the Dutch .

[LiberalBuzz]

Okay I'll buy that, BUT Throg's Neck?