Drivers fuming over nightmarish traffic delays caused by the collapsed Interstate 95 overpass in Philadelphia may soon get some relief, state officials said Wednesday.
Construction crews plan to work “around the clock” to demolish, refill and repave the heavily traveled strip of roadway, which crumbled when a gas , Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said.
“Once complete, cars and trucks can return to this stretch of I-95, and then we will work together to build a permanent bridge while making sure we keep six lanes of traffic open at all times,” Shapiro announced, according to FOX News.
“This approach will allow us to avoid delays through the shipment and supply chain issues and pursue a simple, quicker path.”
The governor gave no timeline for when the massive project will be completed.
However, he said construction crews from the Philly-based Buckley & Company plan to work 24 hours a day on repairing the roadway and eventually reopening north- and southbound lanes.
“That means around-the-clock work that you see going on here during the demo phase is going to continue until this road is reopened,” Shapiro said. “[It’s] all hands on deck.”
Southbound lanes of the highway — which were closed and deemed unsafe after the collapse — will be demolished by Thursday, then “backfilled” and repaved, he said.
Disaster struck around 6 a.m. Sunday when a tanker carrying 8,500 gallons of near the Cottman Avenue exit.
The crash sparked a massive fire near Cottman Avenue and caused the roadway beneath the blaze to collapse — creating a traffic headache for drivers across the Northeast.
The remains of 53-year-old driver Nathaniel Moody were later .
On Wednesday, state officials said a livestream will allow drivers to check in on the highway’s reconstruction progress in real-time.
State police will transport some repair materials, including “specially designed Pennsylvania-made fill” made of “recycled glass aggregate,” to the construction site, Shapiro said.
“This is government working together at all levels,” Shapiro said. “We have a lot to do, but we are going to get this job done.”
The National Transportation Safety Board was still investigating the crash Wednesday.
