By Anna Gustafson
The fire that closed the Throgs Neck Bridge for hours Friday and ensnarled thousands of drivers in major traffic jams throughout the borough was caused by a construction worker’s blow torch, the Fire Department said Monday.
A FDNY spokesman said the three-alarm blaze was accidental and the department continued to investigate.
Trucks remained banned from the Throgs Neck Bridge’s northbound lanes this week and were being diverted to the Robert F. Kennedy and Whitestone bridges, both of which have experienced traffic jams due to the rerouted vehicles as well as construction on the thoroughfares.
Interim MTA Executive Director Helena Williams said while the Bronx-bound lanes were open to car traffic, trucks will not be permitted to cross the bridge for an unspecified amount of time while the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the FDNY assess the damage to the bridge and develop a repair plan. Williams gave no timeline for those measures, and she emphasized the bridge was safe enough for car travel.
“Safety is our highest priority,” Williams said. “I can assure you we would not open lanes if the bridge was not safe.”
More than 130 firefighters from 33 units battled the blaze that broke out at 4:58 a.m. Friday morning and became a third-alarm fire a little after 6 a.m., a spokesman for the FDNY said. Three firefighters and two MTA Bridges and Tunnels officers sustained minor injuries and were sent to New York Hospital Queens, an official said.
Heavy timbers located directly below the bridge that had been used as a safety platform for construction workers caught fire, according to FDNY Assistant Chief James Esposito. The Throgs Neck has been undergoing construction to replace about 140,000 square feet of roadway near the thoroughfare’s Queens side.
The Throgs Neck was closed by 6:30 a.m. and the fire was extinguished after 12 p.m., officials said. The bridge’s Queens-bound lanes were reopened after 1 p.m., and all but one of the northbound lanes were opened by Friday evening.
Esposito said it was especially difficult for firefighters to reach the blaze due to its position directly under the bridge, and many of those battling the blaze worked in safety harnesses tethered to the side of the bridge.
Officials did not know exactly how many drivers were affected by the bridge’s closing, but they said it was thousands. More than 100,000 drivers use the Throgs Neck Bridge on a typical weekday, according to the MTA.
Bayside resident Jeff Sturza said he had to sit for four hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic while driving from Queens to Brooklyn Friday morning.
“I know New York City has traffic, but this traffic was unbearable,” said Sturza, who awoke early Friday morning to the sound of police helicopters flying near his home in Bayside Terrace.
Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing), the chairman of the Council’s Transportation Committee, said the fire “highlights the need for ongoing maintenance of the bridges.”
“It has clearly created ridiculous traffic jams on the Cross Island and other nearby thoroughfares, which is why repairs need to be completed as quickly as possible,” Liu added.
Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) called Friday’s event a “sad commentary on the transportation system we have in the city.”
“You have to wonder how bad a transportation system we have when the whole system is clogged after one component goes down,” Avella said.
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e-mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 174.
