Falling concrete caused temporary closure to I-91 in Rockingham

Photos and story by Shawn Cunningham

ROCKINGHAM

Traffic is stopped and redirected at Exit 6 in Rockingham on Friday afternoon. Click photo to launch gallery.

State Police and Rockingham volunteer firefighters responded to a report of concrete falling from the I-91 North bridge over Route 103 South around 3 p.m. Friday, according to VTrans spokesman Wayne Gammell.

Firefighters on the scene reported that a passing motorist had noticed the shards of concrete dropping from the underside of the bridge and called 911. According to Gammell, it was a cosmetic fascia coat that had been damaged by the freezes and thaws of the past winter. “Luckily the bridge maintenance crew out of Springfield Exit 7 was nearby and responded quickly,” Gammell said on Tuesday. “They were able to chip away the loose concrete while the road was narrowed to one lane.”

The I-91 bridge was closed while crews worked beneath it, and traffic was routed off the interstate at Exit 6 near Leslie’s Restaurant,  then back on the northbound ramp just west of the bridge.

Gammell said that the fascia is not structural, but that a crew would be assigned to repair it in the near future. The crews were on the scene until 4 p.m., when the closed lane was reopened.

Photos taken Friday, April 25 show firefighters and VTrans personnel working beneath the I-91 bridge at Exit 6 in Rockingham.

A VTrans worker pulls loose concrete from the I-91 overpass in Rockingham.

Loose concrete falls after being pulled from under belly of the overpass at I-91.

In the foreground lays more concrete that fell off the underbelly of the I-91 overpass.