Governor Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll announced the section of I-95 that collapsed during a tanker fire ten days ago would be reopened this weekend, ahead of the two-week timeline and well before the initial estimates of 'months.'
"Based on the tremendous progress these crews made over the weekend and the time it takes to complete the remaining steps, I can now say that we will have I-95 back open this weekend," Shapiro said in a statement.
The governor continued, "We have worked around the clock to get this done, and we've completed each phase safely and ahead of schedule. That's all due to the incredible coordination with our local, state, and federal partners – and thanks to the hard-working men and women of the Philadelphia Building Trades who are making this happen."
Based on the tremendous progress these crews made over the weekend, I can now say:
— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) June 20, 2023
We will have I-95 back open this weekend.
We have worked around the clock to get this done, and we’ve completed each phase safely and ahead of schedule.
During a Tuesday press conference, Gov. Shapiro said temporary highway lanes had been refilled by a recycled glass aggregate. A live shot of the construction area around 0700 ET shows the partial bridge completion.
The next step for crews is to pave the stretch of the completed roadway to partially reopen one of the most critical transportation arteries in the Mid-Atlantic area. More than 160,000 drivers per day travel the stretch of highway in Northeast Philadelphia.
Watching the government complete such a critical project in record time is astonishing. Maybe because, as US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg described last week, the closure of the bridge has the risk of sparking supply chain chaos across the East Coast.
Traffic is still a nightmare around the closed stretch of I-95.
One person on Twitter said, "Has to be a Record of when any roadwork gets done in PA. Funny what happens with a little effort."
