I-95 reopening in Philadelphia 12 days after collapse
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- When a tanker truck hauling 8,000 gallons of gasoline caught fire at I-95 and Cottman Avenue in Philadelphia on June 11, the Philadelphia Fire Department's Engine 38 was first on the scene.
The scene was grim. An overpass on I-95 collapsed. The driver of the tanker truck, 53-year-old Nathan "Nate" Moody, was killed in the incident. A major artery through the city and along the East Coast was impassable.
On Friday, just 12 days later, construction workers and firefighters cheered as Engine 38 crossed over a temporary roadway completed by local crews working around the clock.
"Let this serve as an example of how Pennsylvania can do big things, that when we come together, when we're determined, we can get stuff done," Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a news conference.
Then, in true Philadelphia fashion, he spoke a little more colorfully.
"We showed that when we work together, we can get s--- done in Pennsylvania, we sure can," Shapiro said.
Right before speaking, President Joe Biden called Shapiro.
"I grew up in Claymont, Delaware not far from the damaged stretch of I-95," Biden said in a statement. "I know how important it is to people's quality of life, the local economy, and the 150,000 vehicles that travel on it every day. That's why I'm so proud of the hard-working men and women on site who put their heads down, stayed at it, and got I-95 reopened in record time. This is an important step forward. We'll be here to provide whatever it takes to keep the permanent repairs on track."
Shapiro thanked Wawa and Starr Restaurants, who provided shorti hoagies and burritos to the crews who worked around the clock. Some dads went to work on Father's Day to get the project finished, Shapiro said.
"It's a day to celebrate, but the work continues," PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said.
Driving over new temporary lanes on I-95: what to know
At noon Friday, the general public will be able to cross the temporary roadway. The speed limit on the roadway will be 45 mph because it's considered a work zone.
The temporary roadway on I-95 will have six lanes -- three on each side.
Crews began paving the lanes Wednesday night. Lines were painted overnight Thursday into Friday.
In a news conference Thursday, Carroll said the lanes are 11 feet wide, while traditional lanes are 12 feet. But it's very common to have 11-foot lanes in a work zone, he said.
About a mile back from the temporary roadway, barriers will be set up to funnel traffic into the three-lane-wide section, Carroll said.
The base for the temporary roadway was made with a specially engineered recycled glass foam aggregate from a company based in Delaware County. Shapiro thanked them for their "Delco ingenuity."
Later on Thursday, a truck from the Pocono Raceway equipped with a jet dryer was brought in to help dry out the road so workers could start painting the lane lines.
As crews put in long hours, residents watched the construction in real time with a livestream. Some bars in the Delaware Valley, and even PhanaVision at the Phillies game, played the livestream as construction continued.
Earlier this week, Shapiro announced I-95 was set to reopen by this weekend.
"Everyone has worked around the clock to get this done and we have completed each phase of this project safely and way ahead of schedule," Shapiro said Tuesday.
The high-speed work has led some to question the safety of the temporary highway, but Carroll brushed off any concerns.
"I have 100% confidence in its ability to withstand the traffic that's on that facility once we open it, and I know that like these other states, it'll work just fine in Pennsylvania," Carroll said earlier this week.
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Shapiro said early estimates of the rebuild will be somewhere between $25 and $30 million. He said the federal government will cover the cost under the disaster declaration that was issued.
"The bottom line is the federal government, the President, [Federal Highway] Administrator [Shailen] Bhatt, Secretary [Pete] Buttigieg have made clear they would cover the full cost," Shapiro said.
The collapse caused traffic headaches for commuters and impacted a multitude of businesses in Northeast Philly.
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Video from commuters traveling on the highway before the collapse showed the fire engulfing the highway and one of the lanes buckling.
In the days after the collapse, crews demolished the remaining lanes of I-95 and started the process of rebuilding the temporary lanes.
Shapiro signed a disaster declaration one day after the collapse to expedite the rebuilding process of the highway.
