I-95 in Philly to reopen within two weeks

I-95 in Philadelphia will be open within two weeks.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro made that promise Saturday when President Joe Biden and other officials surveyed the site of the collapsed bridge by helicopter.

“I can state with confidence that we will have I-95 reopened within the next two weeks. We are going to get traffic moving again thanks to the extraordinary work that is going on here,” Shapiro said Saturday during a briefing, NPR reported.

He echoed the promise on Twitter.

Today, I can state with confidence:

We will have I-95 open within the next two weeks.

We are going to get traffic moving again — thanks to the extraordinary efforts of our incredible union trade workers and our all hands on deck approach.

— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) June 17, 2023

On Saturday, after touring the wreckage, President Biden said “a lot more” federal funding will come to Pennsylvania “in the coming weeks.”

“I’ve directed my team … to move heaven and earth to get this done as soon as humanly possible,” Biden said.

He added that there was no more important highway project in the nation

“We’re with you. We’re going to stay with you until this is rebuilt, until it’s totally finished,” he said at the briefing.

Fill-and-pave I-95 plan

On June 11, a gasoline tanker that carried more than 8,000 gallons of fuel tipped over while negotiating a ramp curve and caught fire underneath an overpass. The fire caused a section of the northbound lanes to cave in and also damaged the southbound lanes. The truck driver, Nathan Moody, 53, died in the incident.

On June 14, Shapiro and state Secretary of Transportation Mike Carroll announced that the state planned to fill the gap where the highway was collapsed with lightweight glass nugget backfill and pave over it to create a temporary roadway. Three lanes in each direction of I-95 will be reopened.

Once the temporary fix allows the highway to be reopened, plans for a permanent repair will be worked out.

Joining Biden on the presidential Marine One helicopter were Shapiro, Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman and Rep. Brendan Boyle and Mayor Jim Kenney, all Democrats. Later Saturday, Biden was to attend a 2024 campaign event with union workers at the convention center.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited the area Tuesday. He promised the federal government would provide the needed assistance to repair the destruction. He also warned that the cost of consumer goods would likely raise in the short term because truckers must travel longer routes.

I-95 is a major highway in the East Coast that stretches nearly 2,000 miles, from Maine to Florida.

Live video

Click here to view a live video of the construction work via the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. LL

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