Driving Through I95 in Philadelphia, I95 reopened June 23 UPDATE

[Chuck-PA]

If anyone is traveling on I95 in Philadelphia; a bridge collapsed near Cottman Ave. and State Rd due to tanker explosion.
95 closed North and South until further notice.

*****Temporary. 3 lanes both north and south. The permanent restructure will start at a later date with new bridge and new highways

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Wow, that is a very busy, strategic travel area. That's going to be a place to avoid for awhile. The Schuylkill Expressway can't handle normal traffic, let alone the detour traffic around an I95 closure.

 

[Chuck-PA]

It took them close 10 years just to build that area up. Not sure how many years to rebuild. Route 1 (Roosevelt Blvd). Is one of the most accident prone in the country.

 

[dvczerfs]

This may take a while to get repaired.

 

[dvczerfs]

I was originally from northeast Pa. We lived a few miles north of I78. We always went I78/I81/I77/I26/I95/I4.
It would probably pay for you to drive north and take an inland route than mess around anywhere near Philly and the northeast coast line.

 

[ArielRae]

This was a notification from my Ring App. The report says June 6th but it happened today June 11th.

 

[beccasmom]

We live in the Philly suburbs and this is a major story here, although it was somewhat fortunate it occurred on a Sunday morning instead of a very busy weekday morning. It will create major headaches for commuters and travelers. The truck was carrying gasoline. They are projecting it will be several weeks before it is reopened. A fire caused by tires illegally stored under the interstate caused a similar issue here in the late 90’s.

 

[hrhdhd]

It took them close 10 years just to build that area up. Not sure how many years to rebuild. Route 1 (Roosevelt Blvd). Is one of the most accident prone in the country.

It won't take years. My DH's company rebuilt the Beachline overpass that collapsed in similar circumstances (gas truck caught on fire after falling from the overpass) in 22 days.

It looks bad, but it's only one bridge span.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

It won't take years. My DH's company rebuilt the Beachline overpass that collapsed in similar circumstances (gas truck caught on fire after falling from the overpass) in 22 days.

It looks bad, but it's only one bridge span.

Even being closed for months (which seems to be the message for now) is going to have a major impact in the area, especially over the summer months. I'm sure it will be the priority and other work will be pushed. But that damage looks significant.

 

[LadybugsMum]

It won't take years. My DH's company rebuilt the Beachline overpass that collapsed in similar circumstances (gas truck caught on fire after falling from the overpass) in 22 days.

It looks bad, but it's only one bridge span.

Something similar happened in Birmingham in early 2002 when a bridge at the junction of I59/20 and I65 collapsed due to a car cutting off an oil tanker which caused an explosion. The new bridge was completed 37 days.

 

[PSUPreston]

The crazy thing was seeing videos on social media of cars driving past that area as the fire was going on. One of the videos I saw you could even see the dip in the road prior to collapse. Those folks are very lucky!!

 

[Narcoossee11]

It is UNBELIEVEABLE how quick road work can be done when it HAS to be.
It will take Weeks not years.
If only all road work be so quick .

 

[LilyWDW]

These sorts of emergency repairs get done a LOT faster then the original building of the area. This is due to funding and the ability to cut through a lot of the red tape a normal project gets caught up in.

Source: Used to work in a State DOT that had a bridge get severely damaged.

 

[snikki]

I hope it’s fixed quickly but the governor and mayor have already said it’ll be months. Locals are joking and saying 15 year minimum.

Something similar happened in 96 with a tire fire on 95. If took several months to fix.

 

[Jimsig]

Looks like it's already fixed

 

[EACarlson]

CNN is reporting that the tanker was on it's way to a Wawa, wonder if this will push anyone to Sheetz?
I hope it goes faster for those of you in PA than it did in MN when I 35 collapsed.

 

[ncc1701]

CNN is reporting that the tanker was on it's way to a Wawa, wonder if this will push anyone to Sheetz?
I hope it goes faster for those of you in PA than it did in MN when I 35 collapsed.

No since there are no Sheetz in the greater Philadelphia area.

 

[Chuck-PA]

I saw on WPVI this morning, the workers are now taking taking the other side of I95 down. Both sides are closed at Cottman Avenue to Aramingo Ave. All alternate routes are at a standstill during rush hour.

 

[msmayor]

I live in Jersey, just about 15 minutes from Philly...and we're expecting the traffic on I-295 and the NJ Turnpike to increase as a result.

Drivers can cut over to NJ in a number of spots north of the closure, hop on either of those 2 roadways (295 no tolls, NJ Turnpike tolls) and cut back to 95 at the Walt Whitman bridge (near The Linc, where the Eagles play), the Commodore Barry Bridge (pick up 95 in Wilmington DE area) or take either roadway down to the DE Memorial Bridge and pick up 95 right at the DE border.

My money is on a re-opening no earlier than September, and more likely into the fall.

 

[LilyWDW]

I saw on WPVI this morning, the workers are now taking taking the other side of I95 down. Both sides are closed at Cottman Avenue to Aramingo Ave. All alternate routes are at a standstill during rush hour.

You mean the lanes going in the other direction? I wouldn't be surprised. The whole structure is compromised. You can't guarantee that there was no damage to the support.