Pennsylvania governor won’t estimate how long I-95 repairs will take in Philadelphia

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) said construction crews will work around the clock to reopen a section of Interstate 95 in northeast Philadelphia that collapsed Sunday, but he did not estimate how long construction would take.

A gasoline truck crashed and ignited under an overpass section of the interstate, causing the southbound lanes to collapse and severely damaging the northbound lanes.

“We’re going to get this job done as quickly as possible,” Shapiro said, noting that I-95 is a “key part of our economy.”

About 160,000 vehicles travel across the impacted section of the interstate every day, according to the Department of Transportation. 

The collapse has created immense traffic in Philadelphia and likely will cause problems for shipping and cargo along the critical interstate corridor. I-95 runs from Miami to the U.S.-Canada border in Maine and through most major cities on the Eastern Seaboard.

Shapiro declared a state of emergency over the collapse and pledged at least $7 million to fix the bridge. The Biden administration has also promised federal support.

Construction crews will not directly rebuild the 100-foot collapsed section of the bridge. Rather, they will fill in the area under the overpass with aggregate and pave a new surface level to get the roadway in operation as soon as possible, Shapiro said. 

Then, a new overpass will be built parallel to the once-collapsed section, and the exit underpass will be rebuilt and reopened. Shapiro said union work crews will not stop working until the job is done.

“This approach will allow us to avoid delays due to shipment and supply chain issues and pursue a simple, quicker attack,” Shapiro said. “Once complete, cars and trucks can return to this stretch of 95, and then we will work together to build a permanent bridge while making sure we keep six lanes of traffic open at all times.”

Demolition of the collapsed section is estimated to finish by Thursday, local officials said. I-95 remains closed in both directions through north Philadelphia.

The driver of the gasoline truck died in the crash, local police said. He was identified as Nathan Moody, 53.