PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has issued a disaster declaration following the tanker truck fire and subsequent collapse of an I-95 bridge in Northeast Philadelphia Sunday morning.
The proclamation of disaster emergency immediately frees up federal funds and cuts through the red tape so crews can begin the reconstruction process, which is expected to take several months.
"My administration is all hands on deck to repair I-95 as safely and as efficiently as possible," Shapiro said in a statement.
The proclamation makes $7 million of state funds immediately available for reconstruction efforts.
Around 6:15 a.m. Sunday, a tanker truck burst into flames under the highway. The heat was too much for the roadway above. The northbound lanes collapsed and the southbound lanes were structurally compromised.
"From what we understand, the tractor and trailer was trying to navigate the curve, lost control of the vehicle, landed on its side, and ruptured the tank and ignited the fire," said Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll.
Sources confirm that the driver of the truck, 53-year-old Nathaniel Moody, died in the crash. Pennsylvania State Police said human remains recovered from the wreckage were turned over to the Philadelphia medical examiner and coroner in an effort to establish his identity.
Related
Most of the northbound lanes that plummeted to the Cottman Avenue underpass were already demolished by Monday morning. PennDOT said the southbound section of the highway must also be demolished, and it will take several days to do so. Crews will start immediately.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating, along with state and local officials, and another press briefing is expected Monday afternoon or evening.
Why does an emergency declaration last 21 days?
The chairman of the Pennsylvania House Transportation Committee, Philadelphia-based state Rep. Ed Neilson, is calling on the state Legislature to be prepared to help facilitate repairs to I-95.
While Shapiro’s emergency declaration expedites the reconstruction process, his hands are tied by a constitutional amendment that passed during the pandemic.
“He can only do so much,” said Neilson, a Democrat. “And it should be said that, under this state Constitution, this governor disaster declaration will expire after only 21 days — 21 days — and there’s not a person in this room that doesn’t know that will definitely not be enough time.”
The 21-day period can be extended by the Legislature.
In 2021, voters approved the amendment and Pennsylvania became the first state in the nation to impose restrictions on a governor’s authority under a disaster declaration. Lawmakers proposed the measure following opposition to former Gov. Tom Wolf’s emergency shutdowns during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Previously, a disaster declaration lasted 90 days and could be renewed indefinitely.
Neilson, who lives near the site of the truck fire, said as tragic and challenging as it is, he can’t help imagining how much worse it could have been.
“Twenty-four hours later, if this accident occurred, it would have been much worse,” he said, as the incident would have taken place during a busy Monday rush. “We would have had thousands of cars traveling on the way to Center City. … My own son would have been going to work at 6:20 in the morning.”
Getting around
Federal transportation authorities say I-95 is one of the most heavily traveled roads in the country. The collapse is expected to have ripple effects on travel throughout the region. State and federal officials are watching the situation closely.
I-95 runs parallel to Routes 130 and I-295 in New Jersey as well as the New Jersey Turnpike. New Jersey Transportation officials are closely monitoring traffic patterns to see how volume on those roads is affected as drivers use alternate routes.
The Delaware River Port Authority canceled construction lane restrictions scheduled for the Benjamin Franklin and Walt Whitman bridges on Monday morning to help alleviate any additional volume. Officials say it was typical for the morning rush, and it’s something they will continue to monitor.
A months-long rebuild
Amir Farnam, an engineering professor at Drexel University, said fire-resistant materials aren’t usually taken into account when building bridges.
“Normally we don’t design them for fire resistance,” he told NBC10. “Maybe this incident will help us to think for the future codes that maybe we want to include some sort of a fire-resistance design.”
Farnham said that it usually takes years to build a bridge, but the process can be expedited.
Related
Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt estimated the I-95 rebuild will take “single-digit months, not double-digit months.”
“I do think that one of the things that we’re gonna look at is the geometry of some of these ramps as we try to rebuild this here and just see if there’s anything we can do,” he said live on KYW Newsradio Monday morning. “I think part of the challenge is, it’s a very tight footprint. We’re going to look at some of those constraints, but certainly very grateful that there was no loss of life for motorists on 95.”
Meanwhile, PennDOT is considering some type of temporary structure to help drivers get around until that part of the highway can be rebuilt.
“I always trust our engineers and our bridge engineers,” Bhatt added. “I think what we want to consider is how quickly can a temporary structure, if that is the preferred option, is it better just to do a permanent fix? I think we will start to look at some of those options and quickly get to a decision and get mobilized.”
New Jersey Congressman Donald Norcross. He says millions of dollars have been budgeted to deal with emergencies like this.
“Public safety is rule one. Then you make sure it gets done fast,” said Norcross. “As soon as they come up with a plan, we have the right contractors and the right workers to do this 24/7 and get that back online.”
But Norcross says it won’t get done overnight.
“You need a plan so it’s done safely and in the appropriate way. You don’t just throw a bunch of sticks up there, and hopefully a truck can make it over safely.”
Related
Tim Jimenez, John McDevitt, Jim Melwert, Justin Udo and Mike Dougherty contributed to this story.