The driver of a pickup that was towing a backhoe drove through the entire bridge a little before noon last Friday.
The Department of Transportation said most of the damage was done to the top of the bridge, where 21 of the 23 wood beams are snapped, and lighting broken.
The DOT said materials for repairs are coming through special order. They hope work on repairs will start next week, but it could still be weeks before the bridge reopens to vehicles and pedestrians.
This means a major transportation route is blocked, and nearby businesses are feeling the impact.
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“It’s sad, historically speaking,” said Kim Solie, of Branford. “There’s not many left. So to see damage is really hard, it does affect history.”
A couple visiting from Branford was disheartened at the sight.
“We were traveling around New England photographing covered bridges, and we decided on the way home to see what kind of havoc was wreaked upon this bridge, said Christian Gott.
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For locals, the closure means inconvenience.
“It shuts down the town from this direction. I have to drive eight miles to get to the post office, which is 100 yards across the bridge,” said Michael Shulan, who lives in West Cornwall.
The closure of the bridge near the intersection of Route 128 and Route 7 in Cornwall means detours.
In West Cornwall, employees at 3 Guys Ski and Ride said their customers have had to put in effort to get to them.
“Yesterday was very slow, so I would imagine those are some of the effects that we’re feeling from the bridge being out,” said Ian Danforth Gold, an employee at the ski and bike shop. “Most recently we had somebody come in, and they said that their 15-minute drive had been turned into a 35-minute drive.”
At the nearby restaurant Frank Food Company, the owner is taking steps to let his regulars know they’re still open and ready to serve.
“He actually called a lot of those people, and word got around, so they knew how to get here a different way,” said Liz Sayre, a cook at Frank Food Company.
Connecticut DOT Supervisor Scott Thibault monitors the bridge.
“Carnage of boards laying all over the place,” Thibault said. “We’ve had some significant hits in the 38-plus years that I’ve been working DOT, but this is by far the worst.”
Seeing the damage impacts him on a personal level. He grew up in Cornwall.
“It brought a tear to my eye when I came here,” he said. “It’s special for the community, special for myself. This bridge has a lot of history. The fire department has a patch of the bridge on the shoulder. So it is an icon for the town.”
The DOT does not have an estimated cost of the damage. A spokesperson says they will be submitting claims to the driver’s insurance company to recuperate the cost for repairs.
