Will I-95 be safe to drive on once it reopens in 2 weeks?
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The countdown to the reopening of at least a temporary part of I-95 is on. There are mixed feelings among the drivers CBS News Philadelphia spoke with - the biggest question we heard - is it safe?
Monday marks eight days since the I-95 collapse.
Crews at Cottman Avenue and State Road are still working 24/7 now with a two-week timeline of six temporary lanes reopening - three in each direction.
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"A mess, it's changed my commute to work -- made it longer and harder," Bill Redgate said.
Drivers in Northeast Philly agree that detoured traffic still is a problem. Some are looking forward to the reopening of 95 with temporary lanes.
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"I hope it's in the timeframe that they're saying, but anything will be better than what's going on now," Redgate said.
But others are going to stick to avoiding the interstate until a permanent bridge is complete.
"It's the time, it's the safety, it's the traffic. It's the chaos. I just want to avoid the chaos at all costs," Desire Correa said.
Michael Chajes, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Delaware, said the temporary lanes will be "completely safe" to drive on once they're ready to go.
On Sunday, PennDOT notes the temporary fix of filling in the roadway with recycled glass aggregate will be done "within the next day or two."
Then, the agency says crews will install a sub-base, barriers, and then move on to paving.
"We haven't had the ability to do this always," Chajes said. "First of all if it's over a river you obviously can't fill in. If there's a major interstate below it, you can't fill in, so it just happened to be the case."
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As for questions and concerns some have over how quickly this is all happening, Chajes says it's not surprising it's moving fast.
"The Department of Transportation pulls out all of the stops, so they get help from local contractors and there are a lot of people that step in at this point and that's not typical in your house -- when you have something to do, everyone is not running to help," Chajes said.
CBS News Philadelphia asked PennDOT for an update on the construction of the temporary lanes but was told by a spokesperson Sunday's update is the latest they're sharing.
