Work underway on permanent I-95 fix

Gov. Josh Shapiro and his second-in-command, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, signed their names to a steel beam Monday that will undergird the permanent solution for a section of I-95 in Northeast Philadelphia that collapsed in June.

Shapiro would not provide a timeline for the fix; however, PennDOT anticipates that the bridge will be complete next spring or early summer, according to information posted late last month on the department-run 95 Revive website, which documents repairs to the interstate.

“We have not stopped,” Shapiro said during a news conference at High Steel Structures in Lancaster, which is forging 16 girders for the project. “We are all hands on deck until this job is finally complete.”

An oil tanker crashed June 11 on the off-ramp at Cottman Avenue, sparking a fire that caused the collapse and killed the driver, Nathaniel Moody, who was en route to a local gas station.

Crews worked around-the-clock to clear debris and filled in the gap with 2,000 tons of glass aggregate nuggets, allowing the highway to reopen less than two weeks after the crash.

Currently, three lanes are open in each direction with a reduced speed limit – 45 mph – enforced through cameras. The Cottman Avenue exit from the northbound lanes remains closed.

Earlier this month, PennDOT said workers at the site were removing compromised concrete and preparing for the installation of the beams.

During the first phase of the rebuild, contractors will construct a new bridge outside the temporary lanes, according to the department. Officials expect to be able to shift traffic to that new bridge by the end of the year.

Once that happens, crews can remove the aggregate material and open one lane of the Cottman exit while the central section of the overpass is rebuilt, PennDOT said last month on the 95 Revive site.

Shapiro, at the news conference, focused on the role of Pennsylvania companies, including the Cleveland-Cliffs steel mill in Coatesville. PennDOT was able to bypass the normal bidding process after the governor issued a disaster declaration.

“Just like the repair, the overpass will be Pennsylvania-made,” Shapiro told reporters.

“High Steel has made this project a top priority, and they’re expediting the I-95 girders, so that we can get the new overpass on I-95 done as quickly as possible,” he added.