Keystone Today

Harrisburg, PA – Governor Josh Shapiro announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has granted an administrative declaration of a disaster for the businesses impacted by the I-95 collapse in Philadelphia, PA.

The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program provides low-interest loans for small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, and most private nonprofit organizations. The SBA can provide up to $2 million to help businesses meet financial obligations and operating expenses that could have been met had the disaster not occurred. The SBA tailors the repayment of each disaster loan to the borrower’s financial capability.

At least seven small businesses in the disaster area have sustained substantial economic injury as a result of the disaster and will be eligible to seek financial assistance.

“Over the past two weeks, I visited several of the small businesses in northeast Philadelphia and I know the I-95 collapse significantly impacted their business. My Administration led an all hands on deck response to get the highway reopened as quickly as possible so customers can return – but I know we need to do more to make those small businesses whole,” said Governor Shapiro. “That’s why I directed my Administration to work with the City of Philadelphia and the Small Business Administration to secure this declaration and give businesses access to low-interest, emergency loans. We’ll continue to  cut through the red tape and provide all the support Philadelphia needs as we work to rebuild and recover.”

Since the initial collapse, Governor Shapiro and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll have 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 on I-95 again. Thanks to this all hands on deck approach and the around the clock work of the Philadelphia Building Trades and contractors, crews demolished the damaged roadway and completely rebuilt the highway just 12 days after of the initial collapse – well ahead of experts’ original predictions.

Governor Shapiro wrote a letter to the SBA requesting disaster loan assistance following information provided by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, who conducted sample surveys of the affected businesses to determine the economic impact of the disaster.

Loan applications will be made available online or by mail. For additional information on low-interest SBA loans or the application process, click here.

Original source can be found here.