THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 26, 1996 TAG: 9610260323
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: METRO BRIEFS
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 36 lines
Many motorists hoping for a smooth transition from work to weekend fumed Friday as Interstate 64 was closed for more than two hours after a fire at the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel.
Although the blaze wasn't on the roadway, smoke from it and the equipment needed to quell it were.
The blaze broke out about 3:30 p.m. on the crane barge Cape Fear, anchored about 1,000 yards off Willoughby next to the southwest bridge.
Six men were at work in the 150-ton barge-mounted crane. All escaped without injury. One firefighter was hurt, a Hampton Fire Department spokesman said.
The cause of the fire, which was fought by firefighters from Norfolk and Hampton, is under investigation. It's believed to have started in the engine room and appeared to have caused extensive damage to the crane, which is valued at between $2 million and $4 million.
It took 45 minutes to bring the fire under control.
The closure of the vital link between the Peninsula and the Southside left traffic stalled for miles in both directions. As motorists sought alternate routes, particularly Interstate 664 and the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel, traffic on those roads also slowed.
There was a huge backup on I-264 at the Berkley Bridge in Norfolk, extending back to Military Highway, as some people sought to use that route to reach I-664.
Police reopened the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel to all traffic just before 6 p.m. From staff and wire reports
KEYWORDS: FIRE NORFOLK TRAFFIC by CNB