I-95 partially reopens 12 days after deadly collapse

Interstate 95 partially reopened Friday in Philadelphia, just 12 days after a portion of the highway collapsed.

Crews worked around the clock to rebuild the six-lane portion of the highway that reopened, as seen on a 24/7 livestream of the site.

“To the thousands of folks, who turned on the livestream to check in on our progress and cheer on those who were doing the work, this was a moment of civic pride for Philly and Pennsylvania,” Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) said at a news conference.

“We all came together, and we proved that we could do big things again in Pennsylvania,” he added.

The northbound lanes of the roadway collapsed earlier this month after a tractor-trailer carrying gasoline flipped and caught fire beneath an I-95 overpass. The southbound lanes were so severely compromised that they ultimately also had to be demolished.

President Biden — who said last weekend that there was “no more important project to the country right now” than highway’s construction — called the Pennsylvania governor Friday after the interstate reopened well ahead of its projected two-week timeline.

“Thanks to the grit and determination of operating engineers, laborers, cement finishers, carpenters, teamsters, and so many other proud union workers doing shifts around the clock, I-95 is reopening,” Biden said in a statement. “And it’s ahead of schedule.”

This story was updated at 2 p.m.

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