Gov. Josh Shapiro this week announced that six lanes of traffic on I-95 are officially reopened after the deadly fire and collapse of the roadway 12 days prior. Since the initial collapse, Shapiro and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll led a coordinated state, local and federal response to reopen the roadway safely and as quickly as possible, and efforts were ahead of schedule each step of the way to get traffic flowing again. The new roadway opened to the public at 12 p.m. on Friday.
“Over the past 12 days, the eyes of the country have been on Pennsylvania. We showed them what our grit and determination can accomplish, and we showed them good government in action,” said Shapiro. “This is what we can do when governments at all levels come together to get the job done. Let this serve as an example to all that Pennsylvania can do big things. When we come together, when we’re determined, we can do big things in this city and in this commonwealth, and this is proof.”
Thanks to the coordination between PennDOT, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, the Biden Administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the City of Philadelphia, and the around-the-clock work of the Philadelphia Building Trades and contractors, crews demolished the damaged roadway and completely rebuilt the highway within two weeks of the initial collapse, well ahead of experts’ original predictions.
“The building trades folks are the real heroes here — they constructed this in a skillful and speedy way, and I am eternally grateful for their dedication,” said Carroll. “PennDOT and our team and the Buckley team will continue our efforts to construct the facility on either side of this structure in an effort to restore I-95 to its full capacity.”
Engineers have already begun designing and ordering materials for a new permanent bridge over Cottman Ave. PennDOT will continue to lead that work and will keep the public informed as it progresses.
The temporary roadway will feature three 11-foot lanes in each direction and will be posted at a speed limit of 45 miles per hour. There will be no shoulders on the temporary roadway. Motorists are encouraged to drive safely along the temporary roadway, which will be an active work zone as work continues on the permanent bridge replacement.
The Flyers, Eagles, Phillies, 76ers and Union organizations have made a collective $50,000 donation to build a trust for the daughter of Nathan Moody, the driver who died in the collapse on June 11.
