CNN
—
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and state transportation officials will announce plans Wednesday for the rebuilding of a portion of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia that collapsed after a tanker truck caught fire Sunday, impacting traffic along the major East Coast artery.
The highway overpass came crashing down after the truck carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline crashed and exploded in flames under it, officials said. Crews have been working around the clock on demolition efforts.
The northbound stretch of the interstate collapsed onto the truck. Southbound lanes were also compromised and need to be repaired.
The collapse has caused major disruption for traffic, and the primary detour is about 23 miles using state or interstate roads, local transportation officials said.
Shapiro said it could take months to restore the crumbled section of the highway that typically carries about 160,000 vehicles through Philadelphia daily. About 8% of those vehicles are trucks that will now need to take longer, more costly routes, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said when he visited the site of the collapse Tuesday.
“That is a lot of America’s GDP moving along that road every day,” he said.
Buttigieg said his agency will provide “every resource that is needed” to help local officials address the effect the collapse is having on commuters and the movement of goods in the area.
Shapiro issued a disaster declaration Monday, saying it will allow the state to dip into federal funds and cut red tape to expedite repairs. The proclamation makes $7 million in state funds immediately available for reconstruction – with the total cost and time frame for the project still unclear.
I-95 collapse detours
A body recovered from the wreckage was identified Tuesday as Nathan Moody, the driver of the truck that crashed underneath the freeway before bursting into flames.
Moody was a 53-year-old father of three and a career truck driver, said his cousin Isaac Moody. He died of blunt trauma to the head, inhalation and thermal injuries, Philadelphia Department of Health spokesperson James Garrow told CNN.
The National Transportation Safety Board said earlier this week that the tanker truck will be an initial focus of its investigation into the incident. The truck was carrying gasoline bound for delivery to a local Wawa gas station.
“We have to get in and see what we think happened with the tanker truck,” said NTSB chief Jennifer Homendy. “There are lots of different scenarios.”
Investigators might also need to examine the structural makeup of the bridge, Homendy said.
Pennsylvania State Police said Monday that officials will not launch a criminal investigation into the collapse.
The impact of the collapse is expected to ripple across the state and the Northeast.
The incident was “causing what we know will be extensive disruption for the movement of people and goods through that region,” Buttigieg said Tuesday.
Residents in the area have been warned to expect delays to trash collection and bus routes.
All lanes of I-95 are closed between the Woodhaven and Aramingo exits, the city of Philadelphia said. Commuters have been forced to find new routes to work, with traffic impacts stretching beyond I-95.
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