After the dramatic collapse of I-95 in Philadelphia, the state is speeding up repairs

The stretch of Interstate 95 that collapsed in Philadelphia nearly two weeks ago will not be closed for months after all.

State officials, who had predicted disruption well into the summer, now say the highway will reopen to traffic at noon on Friday, with a temporary six-lane roadway on top of 2,000 tons of broken glass that arrived in trucks last week.

The elevated stretch of highway collapsed on the morning of June 11 after a fuel tanker crashed into the road below and caught fire. The driver of the truck died in the accident and the fire burned the steel beams supporting the elevated roadway, causing it to give way.

A faster-than-expected reopening is welcome news for drivers traveling on that stretch of Interstate 95, which runs through northeast Philadelphia and is used by about 160,000 vehicles on a typical day, according to Pennsylvania’s transportation agency PennDot.

The fate of the highway has been a fixture in local news coverage for days, and even that wasn’t enough for some Philadelphia residents. Thousands of people log into PennDot’s 24/7 every day live stream of the construction site to monitor the reconstruction in real time. Even some bars have started showing the feed.

The unexpectedly early reopening and cheers from Pennsylvania’s largest city were a boon to the state’s governor, Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, who took office in January.

After saying it would take months to repair the road, the Shapiro administration soon promised a much shorter timeline. On Tuesday, the governor said the highway would reopen on Saturday, and on Thursday night, his office said the opening had been pushed back — to Friday.

The permanent rebuild will take months and officials have not said when they expect it to be completed.

But a spokesman for Mr Shapiro said the governor was determined to reopen the highway as soon as possible to show that the government can be responsive and effective.

“This is an opportunity to bring people together and show that government can be a productive force for good,” said Press Secretary Manuel Bonder.

One day after the collapse, Mr. Shapiro declared a state of emergencyimmediately free up $7 million in government funding for the response and reduce red tape that can delay infrastructure projects.

Mr Bonder said his boss was very proud of the state’s prompt response and energetic communication, which included not only the live stream but also invite a TikTok maker to a press conference about the collapse.

To keep the site dry and allow the project to continue in the event of heavy rainfall, the state has brought in a powerful truck-mounted dryer, which is mostly used for the track at the Pocono Raceway in northeastern Pennsylvania.

André Butler, a professor of civil engineering and urban planning at New York University, said that because the temporary structure was built without reinforced concrete supports, the project could proceed more quickly while still being safe.

“Thank God for new methods and new knowledge,” Professor Butler said, as well as “the ability to do things better and or faster over time.”

Mike Carroll, the head of PennDot, told reporters this week that recycled glass like this has been used in Pennsylvania and other states for years and he wasn’t concerned about using it for the temporary structure.

“I have 100 percent confidence in its ability to withstand traffic at that facility once we open it,” said Mr. Carroll.

The road collapse and the state’s 24-hour response have drawn the attention and praise of President Biden, who toured the site by helicopter on Saturday and said more federal aid was coming.

“I grew up not far from here,” Mr Biden said. “I know how important this stretch of highway is, not just to Philly, but to the entire Northeast Corridor and to my home state.”