Impact of I-95 collapse on Philadelphia freight transport

John Kingston - Editor-At-Large - FreightWaves - Carle Place, NY

Commuters who drive the route will want to seek alternatives, as repairs are expected to take “months,” according to Gov. Josh Shapiro, who toured the aftermath Sunday afternoon. SEPTA is working to add service to lines that run nearby.

It all started around 6:20 a.m. Sunday morning, when reports came in of a vehicle fire, Shapiro said.

Collapse of the Interstate was due to a tanker fire underneath the overpass which buckled under the pressure of the vehicles passing over.

This section of I-95 runs west of the Delaware river right through downtown Philadelphia (between downtown and the river).

At the Route 73/Cottman overpass, just north of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, the northbound lanes of I-95 were “gone,” Fire Dept. Capt. Derek Bowmer said at a morning press briefing, and the southbound lanes were “compromised.”

The destroyed portion of the highway is “likely the busiest interstate in the commonwealth,” seeing around 160,000 vehicles daily, according to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll. - PER CNN

According to a website called The Greater Encyclopedia of Philadelphia, which includes a history of I-95 in that region, by 2010, the stretch of I-95 through Bucks County, which is north of the city, was carrying 136,000 cars per day and 19,000 trucks.

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