Bucks County commuters navigate around I-95 bridge collapse to get into Philadelphia

Bucks County commuters found their way into Philadelphia on Monday morning as a portion of the highway remains closed indefinitely after a tanker fire near the Cottman Avenue exit.

But, a survey of SEPTA regional rail stations early Monday found light or normal traffic there. The Levittown Station in Tullytown was virtually empty at 8 a.m. and the large parking lot still had spaces available.

Those who braved the drive into the city found busy roads and traffic jams on their detoured paths, including on State Road, which snakes along I-95 in Bucks and Philadelphia. Traffic was slow moving and at a standstill at point in Philadelphia as drivers navigated around the closed highway.

A tanker truck fire closed seven miles of I-95 in both directions indefinitely Sunday after an elevated portion of the heavily traveled interstate collapsed in the Tacony section of Philadelphia, raising concerns about travel headaches across the Northeast corridor.

Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Michael Carroll said the I-95 segment carries roughly 160,000 vehicles per day and was likely the busiest interstate in Pennsylvania. The collapsed section of I-95 was part of a $212 million reconstruction project that wrapped up four years ago, officials said.

Commuters make trips into Philadelphia as I-95 investigation continues

Authorities have not publicly identified the truck owner or the driver, indicated whether the driver survived or said what exactly fueled the blaze. A Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson said early Monday he had no information about those details and did not indicate when police might disclose more.

Investigators from both state, local and federal agencies were on the scene Monday as crews also cleared the collapsed roadway.

Erin McGarry, of Pennington, typically makes the hour drive into Center City Philadelphia, three times a week for her job. On Monday, she instead drove 15 minutes to the SEPTA Yardley station to catch the West Trenton line.

“I spent yesterday looking at how to get to work and figured this would be the safest way,” McGarry said. “It’s going to be trial and error for the next few weeks and we’ll see what works best."

About two-thirds of the travelers waiting to board the train at the Yardley station Monday morning said they changed their mode of getting into the city. Among them was Lea Surrey, of Newtown, who preferred the one-hour drive into work because it gave her more control over her schedule.

“I always felt like driving was more convenient, but I’ll have to take the train for now until this gets fixed. I only wish there were more trains on the schedule,” she said.

More: Driving or taking SEPTA from Philly? What Bucks County commuters can expect heading home

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SEPTA Trenton Line ready but light Monday morning

The Monday morning rush at SEPTA’s busy Trenton line looked normal, and by 8 a.m., the Levittown station was empty.

“Mondays and Fridays are usually lighter than the rest of the week,” said an Amtrak employee who declined to give his name. “It’s probably because those are the two days of the week that people work from home.”

Still, SEPTA was ready, adding extra cars and recruiting employees in maintenance to direct newbies who usually drive from Bucks County to jobs in the city.

“We’re ambassadors helping out,” said Chris Dezii, a painter for SEPTA. He stood with fellow employees at the Cornwells Heights station in Bensalem awaiting lost or confused commuter train rookies. “But really, there wasn't as many people as we thought would be here.”

In the Cornwells Heights park and ride lot, Sheree Butler, a SEPTA assistant manager, stood next to a key card truck, where fares for the week can be purchased. By 9 a.m. 12 key cards had been purchased.

“I’m here to help people and show them how to get a card. I guess we’ll be here for the duration. It’s been not too bad today. But Mondays are light. We can only wait to see what tomorrow brings,” he said.

Nancy Stoner, a nurse headed downtown to her job at the University of Pennsylvania, was surprised at the light turnout to take the train.

“I thought it was going to be overwhelmed. But there’s no one here,” she said, standing in a shelter to keep dry from a light rain.

Stoner drives from here home in Ewing, to the Cornwells Heights station to catch the Trenton Line into the city.

“I’ve been doing it for 35 years. All through COVID, because I had to work. I think maybe people decided to stay home today, or work from home. Tomorrow will be more of a test.”

West Trenton line takes Bucks County to Philadelphia

Mackensie Ellis only goes into Philadelphia for work about once a month. But she admitted, for her, the change in her commuting routine could be a positive one, as driving in typically took her about 90 minutes and cost $40 a day in parking.

“It’s forcing me to step out of my comfort zone, but it might be for the best because it seems like it will be cheaper and cut down on my commute time,” Ellis said at the Yardley station.

Sitting next to her twin 9-year-old daughters, Gina Wieger of Hamilton, arrived more than an hour early to the station concerned about additional crowds and hoping additional trains would be running on the R3 West Trenton line.

About three times a week, she takes the train down with at least one of her four kids, taking them to appointments at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

“It’s going to be crazy on the train today. Everything is going to be running late, and coming home is going to be a nightmare,” Wieger said.

“I’m worried about Wednesday when I take my son who is level three autistic,” she added. “With the trains being extra crowded, I’m worried about the overstimulation and it overwhelming him.”

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I-95 collapse: Tanker fire causes part of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia to collapse; complete rebuild expected to take 'months'

More: Interstate 95: What we know about the collapse, the cleanup and the impact

It looked like a typical morning at 7:15 a.m. at the Woodbourne Train Station in Middletown too, but SEPTA employee Pat Darragh was there to help anyone who would have driven down I-95 but now was taking the train into Philadelphia.

“So far, it seems normal,” Darraguh said. He said he wanted to help “anyone new, make sure they’re comfortable getting on the train.”

He would be there until 9:30 a.m. to help with the early morning commute.

As he spoke, Jamie Stough of Yardley got out of his car and made his way to the train platform with a suitcase in tow. He was heading to Philadelphia International Airport and had changed plans from driving to taking the train.

“I made the adjustment due to the mess on 95,” he said. “I needed to pivot.”  He wanted to make sure he didn’t' get caught in a traffic jam on a detour route and miss his flight.

Darraugh said that he thought there would be more people at the train on Tuesday, after drivers realized how bad the traffic congestion might be on Monday.

Commuter John Clifford said he’s noticed in the past few years that the number of people taking the train into the city on Mondays is fewer than later in the week.

SEPTA  is operating three extra morning and late afternoon trains on the Trenton R7 Line that runs through Bucks County, and adding capacity to regularly scheduled Trenton, West Trenton, and Fox Chase Lines during peak hours to help support the City and region’s travel needs following yesterday’s I-95 collapse, the agency said.

SEPTA  is operating three extra morning and late afternoon trains on the Trenton R7 Line that runs through Bucks County, and adding capacity to regularly scheduled Trenton, West Trenton, and Fox Chase Lines during peak hours to help support the City and region’s travel needs following yesterday’s I-95 collapse, the agency said.

SEPTA is also bolstering staffing.

“This is really going to have a ripple effect throughout the region,” AAA spokesperson Jana Tidwell said Monday. She advised people to avoid peak travel times.

Tidwell also anticipated that drivers will incur additional costs — “more gasoline, more wear and tear on their cars, additional tolls, in terms of leaving Pennsylvania into New Jersey and then back into Pennsylvania."

Transportation officials warned of extensive delays and street closures and urged drivers to avoid the area in the city's northeast corner. Officials said the tanker contained a petroleum product that may have been hundreds of gallons (hundreds of liters) of gasoline. The fire took about an hour to get under control.

The northbound lanes of I-95 were gone and the southbound lanes were “compromised” by heat from the fire, said Derek Bowmer, battalion chief of the Philadelphia Fire Department. Runoff from the fire or perhaps broken gas lines caused explosions underground, he added.

SEPTA Trenton line providing extra service to Philadelphia

• AM: 6:40 AM and 8:03 AM from Trenton, along with 8:25 AM from Holmesburg Juncton

• PM: Trains will run at 3:05 PM from Suburban Station to Holmesburg Junction, along with 4:30 PM and 5:20 PM to Trenton

• These trains are additions to regularly scheduled trips

• SEPTA will increase capacity on the Trenton, West Trenton and Fox Chase Regional Rail Lines by adding rail cars to scheduled peak service trains. This means adding rail cars to regularly scheduled trains.

• Parking continues to be free at Regional Rail Stations and we will be deploying Operations personnel and ambassadors to assist customers Philadelphia Parking Authority parking lots near SEPTA stations at Fern Rock, Torresdale, and Fox Chase will also be free

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: I-95 bridge collapse causing Bucks County commuters to find new routes