Keystone Today

Philadelphia, PA – Governor Shapiro and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced the demolition of the damaged I-95 section is complete ahead of schedule as crews continue working around the clock to repair the roadway.

Now that demolition is complete, Philadelphia-based Buckley & Company will begin to fill in the damaged area in order to rebuild the new section of road – and they have already delivered the first shipments of foamed glass aggregate to the work site. PennDOT employees and contractors will continue working 24/7 to reopen the roadway safely and as quickly as possible.

Please see below for latest updates and information:

Live Feed Up and Running 

This morning, Governor Shapiro announced that the I-95 live feed is up and running and will operate 24/7, allowing the public to watch the rebuilding process in real-time alongside thousands of other people. The live feed can be accessed here: https://www.pa.gov/i95updates.

Pennsylvania State Police Escort Trucks Carrying Backfill Material 

Throughout the day, the Pennsylvania State Police escorted trucks carrying the backfill material – a specially-designed, Pennsylvania-made glass aggregate – from Delaware County up I-95 to the site to ensure those trucks arrived as quickly as possible as crews continue to work on the repair.   

Demolition Was Completed, Ahead of Schedule

Thanks to the crews and contractors working around the clock, the demolition of the damaged section of I-95 is complete – days ahead of schedule.

U.S. Department of Transportation Announces $3 Million in Emergency Relief Funding

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration announced the immediate availability of $3 million in Emergency Relief funds – a down payment for PennDOT to offset rebuilding costs for emergency operations, detour routes, and preliminary engineering, surveys, and design for the permanent restoration work of I-95. 

Secretary Buttigieg, Under Secretary for Transportation Carlos Monje, and Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt have all visited the site in recent days to assess the damage and meet with key stakeholders in the area. The Shapiro Administration will continue to maintain  regular contact with President Biden and Secretary Buttigieg to ensure Pennsylvania has access to all federal resources to rebuild I-95.

PennDOT Shares I-95 Reopening Rendering 

PennDOT today shared a rendering of what the temporary I-95 roadway reopening will look like while the bridge is being replaced. View the rendering here. 

Detour Information & Routes 

PennDOT has primary detour routes in place in the area:

• I-95 Southbound: Route 63 West (Woodhaven Road), U.S. 1 South, 76 East, 676 East
• I-95 Northbound: I-676 West, I-76 West, U.S. 1 North to Route 63 East (Woodhaven Road) 

Additionally, Philadelphia Police will have the following closures and detours in place if you are traveling on I-95 in the area of the Cottman Avenue exit. Police will be located along the detour route. Expect delays along the detour and note these are subject to change:

• Castor Avenue on-ramp for I-95 northbound
  • Closed
• Aramingo Avenue/I-95 on and off-ramps
  • On-ramp to I-95 northbound closed
  • Betsy Ross off-ramp to I-95 northbound closed
• Bridge Street ramp
  • I-95 on-ramp at Bridge Street closed.
  • All traffic on Tacony Street will flow northbound only from Bridge Street to New State Road.
• Tacony Street and Tacony-Palmyra Bridge
  • Tacony Palmyra Bridge traffic onto Tacony Street closed. All traffic continues westbound onto Levick Street.
• Cottman Avenue exit and State Road closures
  • State Road from Cottman Avenue to Longshore Avenue will be one-way, southbound travel only.
• Southbound I-95 detour
  • Exit I-95 southbound at Cottman Avenue.
  • At the end of the ramp, right on Bleigh Street.
  • Follow Bleigh to State Road, make a left onto State.
  • Travel State Road South to Longshore Avenue.
  • Re-enter I-95 southbound at State Road and Longshore Avenue.
• Northbound I-95 detour
  • Exit I-95 at Aramingo Avenue.
  • At the end of the ramp, make a left onto Aramingo Avenue.
  • Follow Aramingo Avenue to Tacony Street. Turn right.
  • Take Tacony Street northbound around Tacony-Palmyra Bridge loop to New State Road. Continue northbound.
  • Travel New State Road to Milnor Street and re-enter I-95 northbound.

The Philadelphia Police Department is providing on-site access to local businesses near the I-95 bridge collapse for all employees, customers and deliveries. If your business is experiencing access problems due to local road closures or detours, contact the Department of Commerce Office of Business Services by calling 215- 683-2100 or emailing business@phila.gov. Commerce is working with the Philadelphia Police Department to assist local businesses.

For more on detour routes and related information, visit www.pa.gov/i95updates.   

Regional Alternative Travel Options, Expanded Services 

Impacted travelers have alternative options in public transit and ridesharing. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is providing updates to its transportation services. There is available capacity on all service.

Additionally, the Regional Share-A-Ride (SAR) program matches people to others making similar trips. Anyone who signs up can earn points for recording their (non-SOV) trips, including transit, car/van pools, biking, and walking. Points add up for rewards like discounts at restaurants and retail establishments, etc.

Information on SAR and other ride-match programs in NJ, DE, and elsewhere in PA can be found at https://www.dvrpc.org/pacarpool/. Regional transportation management associations can help employers and employees with issues regarding changes in commuting due to this closure. SAR is funded through PennDOT and administered by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.

Additional Resources & Information on I-95 

Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras. 

Today, PennDOT published an I-95 incident page on its 511PA traveler information website where real-time travel times are displayed for the incident detours. Travel times for the northbound, southbound, and global detours are displayed. Users can see traffic cameras, incidents, construction, weather forecasts and alerts, and traffic speeds on the map.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts. Subscribe to PennDOT District 6 news and traffic alerts at www.penndot.pa.gov/District6. 

MEDIA CONTACTS: 

Governor’s Press Office: ra-gvgovpress@pa.gov 

PennDOT: Erin Waters-Trasatt, ewaterstra@pa.gov 

PA State Police: ra-pspcomm@pa.gov 

City of Philadelphia: press@phila.gov 

SEPTA: Andrew Busch, abusch@septa.org

Original source can be found here.