Jul. 17--AVON -- A day after Route 44 over Avon Mountain was reopened to trucks, officers cited the driver of a tractor-trailer for brake violations after the truck struck a car stopped for a traffic light at the intersection of Route 44 and Nod Road, the site of another truck crash that killed four people almost three years ago.
As in the 2005 crash, the truck on Wednesday was heading west on Route 44, police said. Wednesday's accident was minor and there were no injuries, according to police.
Route 44, also known as Avon Mountain Road had been closed for a month to trucks 13 tons and more while the Department of Transportation installed a subsurface heating system below the asphalt on the runaway truck ramp to melt frozen precipitation, DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said.
The runaway ramp, not far from Nod Road, originally opened Feb. 29, but was closed from mid-June until Tuesday, when the truck ban was also lifted.
"Without the heating system, we would have to close the escape ramp while crews remove the snow from it," Nursick said. To solve the problem, the DOT decided to add the heating system so the ramp could remain open even in inclement weather, Nursick said.
In the July 29, 2005, Avon crash, the driver of a large dump truck owned by American Crushing & Recycling of Bloomfield lost control after his brakes failed on the steep mountain. The driver and three others were killed when the truck plowed into a line of cars at a stoplight around 7:30 a.m. American Crushing & Recycling had a poor safety and maintenance record.
Police said the tractor-trailer incident Wednesday occurred shortly after 8 a.m.
The tractor-trailer, owned by Vanentil Transport in Maine, was placed out of service, police said. Staff Writer Hilda Munoz contributed to this story.
Contact Amanda Kushner at akushner@courant.com.
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