After Dramatic I-95 Collapse in Philadelphia, State Accelerates Repairs

The stretch of Interstate 95 that collapsed in Philadelphia almost two weeks ago isn’t going to be shut down for months after all.

State officials, who had predicted disruption well into the summer, now say the highway will be reopened to traffic at noon on Friday, with a temporary six-lane roadway put in place atop 2,000 tons of crushed glass that started arriving in trucks last week.

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

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

The fate of the highway has been a fixture of local news coverage for days, and even that hasn’t been enough for some Philadelphians. Thousands of people are logging in daily to PennDot’s 24/7 livestream of the construction site to watch the rebuilding in real time. Even some bars have taken to showing the feed.

The unexpectedly early reopening and the cheers from around Pennsylvania’s biggest city have been a boon for 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 was soon promising a much shorter timeline. By Tuesday, the governor was saying the highway would be reopened by this Saturday, and then on Thursday evening, his office said the opening had been pushed up yet again — to Friday.

The permanent rebuilding 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 fast as possible to show that government can be responsive and effective.

“This is a chance to bring people together and show that government can be a productive force for good,” the press secretary, Manuel Bonder, said.

A day after the collapse, Mr. Shapiro proclaimed a disaster emergency, immediately opening up $7 million in state funding for the response and reducing the red tape that can slow infrastructure projects.

Mr. Bonder said his boss had taken great pride in the state’s swift response and energetic communication, which has included not only the livestream but also inviting a TikTok creator to a news conference on the collapse.

To keep the site dry and the project moving forward in the event of heavy rain, the state has brought in a high-powered, truck-mounted dryer, usually used for the track at the Pocono Raceway in northeastern Pennsylvania.

André Butler, a New York University professor of civil and urban engineering, said that because the temporary structure was being built without reinforced concrete supports, the project could move faster, and still be safe.

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

Mike Carroll, the head of PennDot, told reporters this week that recycled glass like this had been used in Pennsylvania for years as well as in other states and that he had no concerns about using it for the temporary structure.

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

The road collapse and the state’s round-the-clock response has drawn the attention and praise of President Biden, who toured the site by helicopter on Saturday and said more federal aid would be coming.

“I grew up not very 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.”