Opening Soon! Truck Wreckage that Caused I-95 Road Collapse in Philly to Reopen This Weekend

BREAKING: Collapsed I-95 in Philadelphia will open “this weekend”, governor says!

North Philadelphia stretch of I-95 is expected to reopen within the next two weeks according to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Saturday.

This is thanks to an extraordinary effort after a truck driver hauling 8,500 gallons of gasoline on I-95 North lost control on an exit ramp. The truck struck a wall and overturned, resulting in the fire in Tacony (NorthEast Philadelphia), which started around 6am Sunday morning between the exit for Academy Road and Cottoman Avenue. 

PennDOT hires engineer to backfill the highway gap, which will be “paved over and reopened safely and as quickly as possible. Once complete, cars and trucks can return to this portion of I-95 as crews work to rebuild a permanent bridge while keeping six lanes of traffic flowing at all times.”

The tanker was carrying gasoline bound for delivery at a local Wawa gas station.

The extreme heat from the vehicle fire caused the bridge to collapse of the northbound lane of I-95 and possibly weakened the southbound lane as well.

The collapsed roadway is one of the busiest interstates in the city – a critical East Coast thoroughfare that officials say supports Pennsylvania’s economy.

The tanker driver whose truck crashed has been identified by the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office as Nathan Moody of TK Transport. 

Local media reports described Moody as a 53-year-old Army veteran who drove trucks while in the service and a dedicated father of three.

Moody’s cousin Isaac, also a truck driver, spoke to local media and described him as an experienced driver, but did mention the difficulties of tanker hauling. 

“There is so much that can go wrong with a fuel tanker. If you don’t have this valve closed right, if this pressure is not right over there. Nate was very careful with that stuff,” Isaac Moody told a local ABC affiliate.

Explosions around the highway collapse were caused by “runoff of maybe some fuel or gas lines that could have been compromised by the accident. We have fire coming out of those manholes,” Bowmer said, from pressure buildup.

After a sheen was seen in the Delaware River near the collapse site, the Coast Guard deployed a boom to contain the material. While the tanker had a capacity of 8,500 gallons of fuel, the contents do not appear to be spreading into the environment.

At 8:00 a.m. on June 12th, PennDOT and partners are working to respond to the partial collapse of Interstate 95 between Exits 30 and 32 in Philadelphia. The interstate is still closed in both directions in this area. Demolition of the collapsed bridges has begun and detours are in place. The most up-to-date detour information can be found at www.pa.gov/i95updates. 

Buttigieg on collapsed section of I-95: “The people of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania DOT and the entire region affected by this will have the full support of the United States Department of Transportation for as long as it takes to get that restored to normal.”

Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an emergency declaration on Monday to aid in the response to the partial collapse of a section of I-95 in Philadelphia which authorizes the state to quickly draw down federal funds, makes $7 million of state funds immediately available and waives bidding and contracting procedures to expedite the road’s reconstruction.

[Related: What Should Trucking HAZMAT Carriers Learn From Ohio Train Disaster?]

Alternate Routes for I-95 Traffic

“I-95 will be impacted for a long time, for a long time,” Philadelphia managing director Tumar Alexander said Sunday morning. Officials are urging drivers to avoid the area.

According to officials, heavy construction is needed to rebuild interstate after analyzing the extent of the damage.

Commuters from Bucks county and Northeast Philly coming into the city will need to look for long-term alternate routes.

This is also a widely used highway for trucking logistics. Truckers taking I-95 northbound or going from Washington D.C. to NY should get off early and take the NJ turnpike, paying the toll fees.  

Detour Routes

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) 

Local Detour Routes

I-95 Northbound: Exit 26 (Betsy Ross/Aramingo Ave), Tacony Street, New State Road, Milnor Street, Bleigh Avenue, and Linden Avenue to access I-95 North.

I-95 Southbound: Cottman Avenue exit, Bleigh Avenue, and State Road to access SB 95 at Longshore Ave.

Trucking businesses near bridge include:

• KV Express CDL Training & School,
• SG Transportation
• Penn Jersey Diesel & Trailer
• Jillamy Packaging and Warehouse
• Baldor Specialty Foods

[Related: Surprise CVSA HAZMAT Road Blitz Found 14% Violations in June 2021]

Hazmat and DOT Training

At CNS, we are fully capable to handle your HAZMAT compliance training or other DOT training.

There are many rules, regulations, and requirements in each state for authorities to keep track of when it comes to hauling hazardous material. If you are not DOT compliant, it could be detrimental to your company, as fines and penalties can be upwards of $180,000.

For more information, contact us at 888.260.9448 or info@cnsprotects.com.