I-95 collapse: Delaware County company creating material to help in temporary rebuild of I-95
EDDYSTONE, Pa. - Crews continue to work around the clock to demolish and then rebuild the portion of I-95 that collapsed Sunday morning.
AeroAggregates, in Eddystone, makes a high-tech, lightweight, durable aggregate. Tons of that will be used in the temporary fix for I-95. Company officials believe it will help move traffic again sooner rather than later.
In the hours after the 95 bridge collapse, Archie Filshill started getting calls.
"As an engineer, I was coming up the Atlantic City Expressway Sunday morning and started getting text messages of a bridge collapse," CEO of AeroAggregates, Archie Filshill said.
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The company makes Ultra-Light Foamed Glass Aggregate (UL-FGA). Basically, fake rock made of 100 percent recycled crushed glass.
"We crush it into a fine powder. To that we add 1 percent of a foaming agent and we run it through a kiln," Technical Sales Manager with AeroAggregates Rick Smith stated.
What pops out on the other side is a lightweight, durable, weather resistant stone-like aggregate. Over the next week, 10,000 cubic yards will be trucked from Delaware County 25 miles north and begin the backfill phase of rebuilding I-95.
"The plan is to bring up two walls about 80 feet apart," Filshill explained. "When those walls come up to the very top elevation to where 95 is, they’ll pave on top of the foam glass. Put up the barrier and that way they’ll be able to get 95 open a lot faster."
Although state officials declined to give an official timeline, the company believes if all goes well, temporary lanes could be built and traffic could be moving on I-95 in just weeks.
"We are going to start delivering material Thursday. We are going to start constructing Friday morning. We’ve opened our facility 24-7 to bring materiel up," Filshill commented.
"We are happy to be part of the solution. We are just happy to be involved in getting people to work on time," Smith added.