I-95 to be shut down for 'months' in NE Philly after fire causes collapse

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — All lanes of I-95 are closed in both directions between the Woodhaven Boulevard and Aramingo Avenue exits. A commercial truck carrying a petroleum-based product caught fire under an elevated section of the highway on the Cottman Avenue off-ramp and a section of the northbound highway collapsed.

It is expected to be shut down for at least the coming months.

Other streets in the area are closed for the emergency response. All travelers are advised to avoid the area and find another route around. Scroll down for a list of detours.

Closures may change as the response continues. Travelers are encouraged to follow PennDot’s Twitter account or website.

Officials said there were no immediate reports of injuries.

Police Department, Fire Department, Pennsylvania State Police, emergency medical and PECO crews on the scene, trying to contain and monitor what is happening. The U.S. Coast Guard has been called in to monitor any potential environmental impact.

Capt. Derek Bowmer of the Philadelphia Fire Department said emergency crews responding shortly before 6:30 a.m. Sunday to an accident report found heavy fire from a vehicle or vehicles. Early reports indicated that the vehicle may have been a tanker truck, but officials said that hadn't yet been confirmed.

The fire was reported to be under control by 7:30 a.m. The Fire Department said no firefighters were injured in their in their efforts to put out the flames.

Bowmer said the northbound lanes were gone and the southbound lanes were “compromised” due to heat from the fire.

The southbound lanes were heavily damaged, as well, PennDOT's Brad Rudolph said Sunday afternoon. It is not structurally sound enough to carry any traffic over it, Gov. Josh Shapiro said.

The collapsed section of I-95 was part of a $212 million reconstruction project that wrapped up four years ago, Rudolph said. There was no immediate time frame for reopening the highway, but officials would consider “a fill-in situation or a temporary structure” to accelerate the effort, he said.

“Today’s going to be a long day. And obviously, with 95 northbound gone and southbound questionable, it’s going to be even longer than that,” said Dominick Mireles, director of Philadelphia's Office of Emergency Management.

Heavy construction equipment would be required to start to remove the debris to get to the vehicle underneath the collapsed section of highway, he said. It is not yet clear if anyone alive or dead is still inside that vehicle. But as of Sunday afternoon, the machinery had not moved.

The emergency management office launched a drone to assess the damage.
Shapiro toured the scene by helicopter and told reporters of the “remarkable devastation” he saw.

He said said he would take steps in Monday morning to access federal money to rebuild.

“I plan to issue a Disaster Declaration allowing the Commonwealth to immediately draw down federal funds and move quickly to repair and reconstruct this roadway.”

Shapiro said it is not going to be a quick fix for this highway that carries nearly 160,000 cars a day, but he is confident they will have the resources they need to "get this done" and is looking for a "speedy rebuild of I-95."

There were reports of explosions underground that blew the covers off of manholes. Initially officials feared that runoff from the fire or compromised gas lines might be to blame. However, PGW said there are no gas service facilities or infrastructure in the area of the fire.

"Everything we're hearing from the professionals here — there were some manhole covers that were charged by some of the underground activity from the fire," City Councilmember Mike Driscoll explained. "But it seems that everything's under control at this moment and the neighborhood is safe."

Officials said they were also concerned about the environmental impact of runoff into the nearby Delaware River. The U.S. Coast Guard said Sunday that about 8,500 gallons of gasoline had leaked from the truck that was on fire, but a spokesman said "not much" had made its way into the river. The Coast Guard said they would conduct an absorbent operation later in the day anyway.

“There is no impact to drinking water quality," the Philadelphia Water Department said, adding that the agency will continue to monitor the situation.

People living in Northeast Philadelphia should expect delays in trash and recycling collection resulting from Sunday's I-95 collapse, says the city's Department of Streets. Residents citywide should continue to set their materials out as usual.

Additional updates from the city are available online.

Mark Fusetti, a retired Philadelphia police sergeant, said he was driving south toward the city’s airport when he noticed thick plumes of black smoke rising over the highway. He said he assumed it was a brush fire or something underneath.

The road beneath began to “dip,” creating a noticeable depression that was visible in video he took of the scene, he said. He said he didn't think much of it until he saw how thick the smoke was, as he drove right over where the fire was.

"When I went through, and I hit the dip, that dip is right next to where the highway collapsed. That thing would have — any longer, chances are, would have — collapsed the southbound side as well,” Fusetti said.

He said that as he looked in his rearview mirror, he noticed that cars that were heading northbound came to an abrupt stop. Soon after, the northbound lanes of the highway crumbled.

I-95 motorists unlucky enough to be traveling north after the collapse were sent on a 43-mile detour on Sunday, which was going “better than it would do on a weekday," said PennDOT's Rudolph.

Northbound traffic on I-95 was directed off at Aramingo Avenue, forcing drivers to make their way through the Northeast part of the city. Those local roads were experiencing gridlock conditions — Frankford, Torresdale and Cottman avenues, and New State Road — but drivers could get back on I-95 at Linden Avenue.

Southbound traffic was forced off at Academy Road, and motorists were subject to the same major delays along those local roads. Drivers could get back on I-95 south of Cottman Avenue down near Harbison Avenue if they wanted to, but the better choice would be exiting at Woodhaven Road, and heading west to Roosevelt Boulevard. Continue south on the Boulevard to I-76 eastbound to get to and through Center City.

Additionally, State Road was closed at Rhawn Street to help deal with the aftermath of the fire that caused the collapse in the first place.

The fact that the collapse happened on a Sunday helped ease congestion. Come Monday morning, commuters will need to find new routes around the area, and they will have to get used to them.

Drivers south of the city, coming from Delaware or Delaware County, should consider taking I-95 to I-476 northbound to the Pennsylvania Turnpike eastbound. Another option would be to head to New Jersey, where I-295 northbound is an option. Take that to the New Jersey Turnpike Connector westbound to Pennsylvania.

Drivers heading from North Jersey would reverse that, taking the Turnpike Connector west to the Pennsylvania Turnpike west to the Mid-County Tolls or I-476 southbound to I-95 in Delaware County. They could then proceed south into Delaware and points beyond, or north to the Philadelphia International Airport and South Philadelphia.

SEPTA is affected, as well. Service will be detoured until further notice for bus Routes 70, 73, 78 and 84. The Market-Frankford Line will still stick to scheduled services.

If you rely on Regional Rail, SEPTA says there will be train cars added to existing trips on the Trenton Line, West Trenton Line and Fox Chase Line. The goal here is to add capacity to trips that are already on the schedule now for the subway.

Leslie Richards, SEPTA CEO and general manager asks that you consider SEPTA’s options and work with them as they work through this, noting that they have capacity to handle this potential influx in ridership.

SEPTA adds that they are working with officials as they monitor services and make adjustments. Check the SEPTA website for additional service alerts and detours.

I-95 is going to be closed between Academy and Aramingo for quite a while and it will take an immense federal and state response to rebuild this section of highway.

Congressman Brendan Boyle, representing most of eastern Philadelphia, says he is focused on that long and expensive process.

“What's enormously frustrating is that section of I-95 had just been rebuilt. It was a long and expensive process completed not that long ago. So it is horrific to have an oil tanker fire destroy any part,” Boyle said.

On a Sunday morning, it might be hard to wrap one’s head around the impact the region will feel on Monday morning. The congressman said he has been in touch with the White House, Mayor Jim Kenny and Sen. Bob Casey to talk about what needs to happen next.

"I am one of hundreds of thousands of daily commuters on I-95,” Boyle said. “If we go weeks and months with I-95 completely shut down, to be candid, it will be paralyzing, not just for the daily commuters but for the entire area. So we need as much federal help as possible, full stop."

Boyle said the incident will affect millions of people who live in the area — “and, frankly, the extended mid-Atlantic of the East Coast. I-95 is the major artery. It is the largest in the country. And this is the biggest population center. So it is impossible to exaggerate the significance that any prolonged closure of I-95 would have on our area.”

As the investigation into potential environmental impact from the incident begins, Boyle said he will push for full transparency and timely communication with residents.

The fire was strikingly similar to another blaze in Philadelphia in March 1996, when an illegal tire dump under I-95 caught fire, melting guard rails and buckling the pavement.

The highway was closed for several weeks, and partial closures lasted for six months. Seven teenagers were charged with arson. The dump’s owner was sentenced to seven to 14 years in prison and ordered to pay $3 million of the $6.5 million repair costs, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Stay with KYW Newsradio for more on this developing story.