I95 collapse in Philly due to vehicle fire

[masraum]

Wow! I'm guessing that this is going to really suck for a lot of folks. I'm not familiar with the area, but per google maps, it looks like there's a 295, so I have to think that's a good bypass for North South traffic that's not coming from or going to Philly.

[Geneman]

295 is way out of the way..... all the way over in nj. they will route it thru side streets. this happened about 20 yrs ago when a huge pile of tires ignited under 95 and a section came down...

[greglepore]

Uggh. If traveling from NY etc south I'd take Pa Tpk to 476 and back onto 95. Way outta the way, but NE philly streets will be a complete cluster.

[unclebilly]

Fire or explosion?

The reporter on scene said she heard 13 explosions. The damage to the bank and the buckle in the other direction looks more like explosion damage to my untrained eye…

[GothingNC]

Monday Rush-hour will be a bigger mess.

[Rick Lee]

I know that area very well and it sucks horribly when everything is running smoothly.

[A930Rocket]

Wow.

Looks similar to the fire under I-85 in Atlanta years ago. They rebuilt it in record time.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I know that area very well and it sucks horribly when everything is running smoothly.

I was thinking the same exact thing. What a goat rope the next few months are going to be.

They need to fast track the repair in ways I hope they can manage.

[porsche tech]

My wife says she’d vote for anybody for president if they would make an alternative interstate to 95!

[pwd72s]

Wow! Hope nobody was on it during the collapse.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Wow! Hope nobody was on it during the collapse.

The upper road was closed long before the collapse.

There are threads all over the place about this. Several very similar incidents and some that were a total loss like this fixed much more quickly than you'd guess.

Like ol' Willie said, "If you've got the money, honey, I've got the time."
(and manpower/equipment)

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by porsche tech

My wife says she’d vote for anybody for president if they would make an alternative interstate to 95!

One of my goals in life is to never again drive on I-95 south of Springfield, VA (The Mixing Bowl) and I've been successful for 15 years. Can't avoid it around Philly, as I almost always fly in there when visiting my folks. But the last trip was to EWR, which is now a super nice airport. So GSP south from Newark instead of I-95 north from Philly. BTW, the graft and corruption involved in repairing this damage will be epic and add months to the project.

[URY914]

There was a tanker that caught fire under an overpass in Tampa about 20 years ago. Luckily I didn't have to drive in that direction.

[UconnTim97]

That section of highway is over a curved and sloped exit off of I95. My guess is the truck took the turn too quickly.

[bugstrider]

Had the same thing happen in the Bay Area back in 2007.

Had to fly overhead and give updates on flow and incidents impacted by the closure.

[p911dad]

Looks like both north and southbound lanes closed, northbound collapsed and southbound weakened from fire. Concrete and steel weakened and destroyed by the fire. Dang, what a mess. Maybe the busiest Interstate in the eastern US, crosses 15 states. Glad I fly up to DCA. Damn road is a nightmare anyway.

[URY914]

You'd be surprised how quickly this will be repaired. Crews working 24/7 with no budget.

[p911dad]

Originally Posted by URY914

You'd be surprised how quickly this will be repaired. Crews working 24/7 with no budget.

vvent
Probably the biggest delay will be getting the new steel ordered, made and on site. It takes a while to get the steel, it is not just generally in someone's inventory waiting to be used.

[Jeff Hail]

California highways do that without any help.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by p911dad

vvent
Probably the biggest delay will be getting the new steel ordered, made and on site. It takes a while to get the steel, it is not just generally in someone's inventory waiting to be used.

I would think that there might be some serious "horse trading" already in progress. Steel, equipment, manpower, etc. that will be diverted from other projects to restore I-95 asap. And they will be mighty expensive horses too ....