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Mianus River Bridge

bridge in United States of America

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 7, 2026
Entity authorityQ6827700 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Mianus River Bridge is a span that carries Interstate 95 (Connecticut Turnpike) over the Mianus River, between Cos Cob and Riverside, Connecticut. It is the second bridge on the site. The original bridge collapsed in 1983, resulting in the deaths of three motorists. The replacement span is officially named the Michael L. Morano Bridge, after a state senator Michael L. Morano who represented Greenwich, was completed in 1992.

Collapse

A 100-foot (30.5 m) section of the bridge's deck on its northbound span collapsed at 1:30 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, June 28, 1983. Three people died and three more were seriously injured when two cars and two tractor-trailers fell with the bridge into the Mianus River 70 feet (21.3 m) below. Firefighters Michael O’Connor and Ben McGorty were first on scene after calls came in to GPD Dispatch Center, which also notified Connecticut State Police, the town's marine police and the United States Coast Guard. Greenwich Police blocked off the highway as National Guard came in with helicopters. An unnamed man, traveling to Atlanta that night, stopped upon spotting the crash and brought the other cars to a stop, likely preventing more falls.

Editorial summary

“Mianus River Bridge” enters the record as bridge in United States of America. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Mianus, River and Bridge can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1983, 1992—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Mianus, River and Bridge.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Mianus River Bridge” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Mianus, River and Bridge provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6827700. Authority coordinates are 41.037, -73.592. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1983 and 1992.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Mianus River Bridge”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Mianus River Bridge primary sources, Mianus River Bridge archive and Mianus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Mianus River Bridge”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Mianus River Bridge” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.