Commuters in Philadelphia adapting to detours, road closures from I-95 collapse
PHILADELPHIA - Motorists who frequently use Interstate 95 should prepare to reroute their commute for the foreseeable future as crews work to repair a collapsed stretch of highway.
"Just devastating honestly, the traffic is already pretty bad because 95 has been under construction for a while," Emily Orlando from Northeast Philadelphia told FOX 29.
Officials say the collapse happened Sunday morning when a tanker truck hauling gasoline overturned underneath an overpass and exploded, causing the highway above to give way.
The driver of the truck, identified told FOX 29 by family members as Nathaniel Moody, was killed in the explosion. Miraculously, however, there were no reported injuries to motorists or bystanders.
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Officials said the southbound side of the highway will need to be demolished and rebuilt along with the northbound lanes. The stretch of highway is expected to take months to rebuild.
Meanwhile, the estimated 160,000 travelers who use the stretch of highway daily are now tasked with discovering a new way to get to and from their destinations.
The City of Philadelphia on Monday night shared a list of detours and closures that are expected to change throughout the rebuild:
- Castor Avenue on-ramp (for I-95 northbound) | Closed
- Aramingo Avenue/I-95 on and off-ramps | On-ramp to I-95 northbound closed & Betsy Ross off-ramp to I-95 northbound closed
- Bridge Street ramp | I-95 on-ramp at Bridge Street closed & All traffic on Tacony Street will flow northbound only from Bridge Street to New State Road
- Tacony Street and Tacony-Palmyra Bridge | Tacony Palmyra Bridge traffic onto Tacony Street closed & All traffic continues westbound on to Levick Street
- Cottman Avenue exit and State Road closures | State Road from Cottman Avenue to Longshore Avenue will be one-way, southbound travel only.
- Southbound I-95 detour | Exit I-95 southbound at Cottman Avenue, turn right on Bleigh Street at the end ramp, follow Bleigh Street to State Road, turn left on State Road, travel State Road south to Longshore Avenue, and re-enter I-95 southbound at State Road and Longshore Avenue
- Northbound I-95 detour | Exit I-95 at Aramingo Avenue, make a left onto Aramingo Avenue at the end ramp, follow Aramingo Avenue to Tacony Street, turn right on Tacony Street, take Tacony Street northbound around the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge loop to New State Road, continue northbound, travel New State Road to Milnor Street and re-enter I-95 northbound.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is suggesting that motorists coming from I-95 South use West Woodhaven Road to Roosevelt Boulevard onto the Schuykill Expressway the to the Vine Street Expressway. From I-95 North, motorists are suggested to use Vine Street west to Route 76 West to Roosevelt Bouelvard North to Woodhaven Road.
Drivers coming from New Jersey are advised to avoid the Betsy Ross Bridge and use the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge for South I-95 or use the Ben Franklin Bridge.
I-95 collapse causing employees of nearby businesses to be late or tardy for shifts
The collapse of I-95 has caused a traffic headache for hundreds and thousands of drivers who frequently use the roadway to get to and from their places of employment. Some business have noticed employees arriving late, while others have had workers not even show up.
No matter which reroute you have to make for your daily commute, you'll need to pack your patience.
"I'll probably leave a little bit earlier, I think people will get into a groove within the first week or two and figure out where they are going to go and figure out the transportation, but I'll be using my apps that tell me where there is construction and traffic to reroute when I go," Orlando said.