I-95 north closed for several days in Northeast Philadelphia for emergency overhead bridge repair
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A portion of Interstate 95 northbound near the Betsy Ross Bridge/Aramingo Avenue Interchange in Northeast Philadelphia is closed Monday night for an emergency bridge repair, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said.
The detours began on Monday at 10 p.m. and the highway will be closed for several days.
PennDOT said in a news release crews are starting overhead bridge repairs after a vehicle struck the Conrail Bridge in Northeast Philly Monday around 1:30 p.m.
The area of I-95 north near the Betsy Ross Bridge/Aramingo Avenue Interchange was sectioned off to just one lane for several hours while Conrail engineers assessed the structural integrity of the bridge.
I-95 northbound drivers will be detoured to use the Betsy Ross/Aramingo Avenue Interchange (Exit 26), turn right on Aramingo Avenue, and turn right onto Adams Avenue to access the ramp to I-95 north.
The Castor Avenue ramp to I-95 north will also close. Drivers will have to use Aramingo Avenue to access the I-95 ramp at Adams Avenue.
The New Jersey Transit Atlantic City Rail Line has also suspended service in both directions between Philadelphia's 30th Street and Cherry Hill stations as a result of the bridge strike.
The AC Rail Line said it is providing an alternate bus service between the 30th Street and Cherry Hill stations for riders.
Atlantic City Rail Line service is suspended in both directions between Philadelphia 30th Street and Cherry Hill due to a bridge strike near Philadelphia 30th Street. Substitute bus service is being provided between Philadelphia 30th Street and Cherry Hill stations.
— Atlantic City Line (@NJTRANSIT_ACRL) April 1, 2024
PennDOT advises drivers to avoid the construction areas due to traffic and delays on I-95.
For the latest traffic information in Pennsylvania, keep up with PA511.com.
Commuters dealt with "pretty crazy traffic" after truck hit bridge on I-95
Before I-95 was closed, drivers were backed up for miles on Monday after the oversized truck struck the bridge.
"People just looking. Everybody looking like, 'Where can we get off? Like, what is the next exit?' We just wanted to get off and we had the kids in the back," Orlando Montanez said.
Montanez says he desperately needed to charge his Tesla and the traffic wasn't helping. He barely made it to Royal Farms with about 6% left.
"Pretty crazy," Montanez said. "We had to find a charging spot too, so that was crazy to be stuck inside the traffic with all of that commotion. I was like, 'Alright, are we going to make it to the charging spot? Are we going to get stuck here?'"
Bridge just south of I-95 collapse in 2023
The Conrail Bridge that was struck by an oversized vehicle on Monday is just south of where a portion of I-95 northbound collapsed last June.
Last year, a commercial truck holding 8,500 gallons of gasoline caught fire after it crashed near the I-95 Cottman Avenue off-ramp, compromising the structure and causing the northbound lanes of the interstate to collapse.
The driver of the tanker truck, 53-year-old Nathan "Nate" Moody, was killed in the accident.
Crews were able to build a temporary roadway to get traffic flowing again 12 days after the collapse shut down one of the city's major arteries.