Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro made a shocking revelation on Saturday, just six days after a tanker truck caught on fire under an Interstate 95 overpass, causing the highway to collapse.
It will be re-opened within two weeks from now.
The Governor made the announcement in a press availability at Philadelphia International Airport during a visit with President Joe Biden, who is in town for a 2024 campaign event. U.S. Senators John Fetterman and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania were also present at the announcement.
“I can state with confidence that we will have I-95 reopened within the next two weeks,” Shapiro said. “We are going to get traffic moving again thanks to the extraordinary work of those here and our incredible union trade workers.”
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Biden and Shapiro took an aerial tour of the collapse site on Saturday morning, after which the Governor briefed the President on the reconstruction plan that was originally shared with the public on Wednesday.
“There’s no more important project to the country right now as far as I’m concerned,” Pres. Biden said. He added that the project was "all hands on deck" and that the federal government will pay for it.
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Philly-based contractor Buckley & Company is at work pouring a backfill material into the gap in the highway, filling up to the level of the roadway above. A 24/7 livestream set up by PennDOT shows construction underway.
On Thursday, Pennsylvania state police escorted trucks carrying backfill material -- a specially-designed, Pennsylvania-made glass aggregate -- to the site of the collapse throughout the day so that the crews could begin the process.
Officials estimated that 100 truck loads would be needed to fill the hole on I-95 that's about 100 feet wide.
Once the backfill is in place, crews will then pave over it so that three lanes of traffic can reopen each way. The backfill is only a temporary solution.
Federal funds available for reconstruction
Also on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration announced the immediate availability of $3 million in emergency relief funds to help PennDOT offset rebuilding costs for emergency operations, detour routes as well as preliminary engineering, surveys and design for the permanent restoration of I-95.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and other officials visited the collapse site earlier in the week to assess the damage. Gov. Shapiro said he will continue to remain in contact with Secretary Buttigieg and President Biden to ensure Pennsylvania has access to all federal resources as the rebuild continues.
So what will it cost?
Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt told NBC10's Lauren Mayk that the preliminary cost estimate for the emergency repairs appeared to be in the $25 million to $30 million range. Federal emergency relief funds would help cover those costs.
Rendering of I-95 temporary reopening
PennDOT shared a rendering of what the temporary I-95 roadway reopening will look like while the bridge is being replaced. You can view the rendering here.
