Roosevelt Island Bridge Accident Causes Traffic Jam Backing Up Main Street and Helix Traffic

An accident on the Roosevelt Island Bridge this afternoon at approximately 3:45 caused this traffic jam

Roosevelt Island Traffic Jam at Main Street and Bridge Helix This afternoon

and delays on the Bridge Helix as well as up and down Main Street.



According to this Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) advisory:

Please be advised due to a motor vehicle accident there is only one lane of traffic on the 36th Avenue bridge at this time. Please allow for extra travel time.

Sincerely,

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp Advisories Group

A Department of Transportation worker on the scene told me that cleaning up an oil spill

from an earlier accident

was the cause of the delays.

I sent this inquiry to RIOC Acting President Don Lewis and Public Safety Department Director Keith Guerra:

What was the cause of the traffic accident on Roosevelt Island Bridge this afternoon causing traffic delays mentioned in Advisory below?

I was told there was an oil spill on the Bridge. Is that true?

Also, there was another accident last night around 9 PM on the Roosevelt Island Bridge causing traffic delays.

11/27 - 2245 - 36th Ave and Vernon Blvd - Vehicle Accident - No Injuries - NYPD filed a report

Are these two incidents related - was there a common cause of both accidents on consecutive days?

Thank you.

Will update when reply received from RIOC.

UPDATE 8:30 PM - From the Roosevelt Island Twitter-verse:

@manthonyfll @rooseveltisland twitter.com/manthonyfll/st…
— Michael Anthony (@manthonyfll) November 28, 2012

@rooseveltisland the yellow front loader was on a tow bed. was too tall and struck the bridge as it tried to go under the overhang.
— Michael Anthony (@manthonyfll) November 29, 2012

UPDATE 11/29 - According to RIOC spokesperson:

The two accidents were unrelated.

In the first accident, a truck was transporting a small crane. The crane's arm hit the bridge causing some hydraulic fuel to leak. DOT cleaned up the spill. Once the truck and crane were removed from the bridge, traffic resumed.

In the second accident, a yellow cab driver lost control of his vehicle and struck the dividers. No other vehicles were involved. There was no damage done to the bridge and the vehicle was removed.