THE NEED FOR INFRASTRUCTURE $$$
Probe into collapse of US east coast’s main north-south road after tanker fire
The collapsed section of the road as crews continue to work on the scene
(WPVI-TV/6ABC/AP)
MON, 12 JUN, 2023
MIKE CATALINI AND MARC LEVY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
An investigation was under way on Monday into why a tanker fire collapsed a section of the US east coast’s main north-south road, throwing hundreds of thousands of morning commutes into chaos and disrupting commerce for untold numbers of businesses.
Interstate 95 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will be closed in both directions for weeks at the start of the summer travel season.
Motorists should expect extensive delays and street closures, and avoid the north-east corner of the sixth-largest city in the country, transport officials said.
The accident also disrupted the car route from Canada to Florida through the Boston, New York and Washington metropolitan areas.
MON, 12 JUN, 2023
MIKE CATALINI AND MARC LEVY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
An investigation was under way on Monday into why a tanker fire collapsed a section of the US east coast’s main north-south road, throwing hundreds of thousands of morning commutes into chaos and disrupting commerce for untold numbers of businesses.
Interstate 95 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will be closed in both directions for weeks at the start of the summer travel season.
Motorists should expect extensive delays and street closures, and avoid the north-east corner of the sixth-largest city in the country, transport officials said.
The accident also disrupted the car route from Canada to Florida through the Boston, New York and Washington metropolitan areas.
A investigator surveys the aftermath of the collapse (Matt Rourke/AP)
Pennsylvania transportation secretary Michael Carroll said the I-95 segment carries roughly 160,000 vehicles per day.
Sunday’s fire sent plumes of black smoke into the air. The north-bound lanes collapsed and the south-bound counterparts were compromised, according to the Philadelphia fire department.
Authorities have not publicly identified the lorry owner or the driver, indicated whether the driver survived, or said what exactly fuelled the blaze.
Governor Josh Shapiro signed a disaster declaration on Monday, saying it gives state agencies the ability to skip normal bidding and contracting requirements so that the road can be repaired more quickly.
Pennsylvania transportation secretary Michael Carroll said the I-95 segment carries roughly 160,000 vehicles per day.
Sunday’s fire sent plumes of black smoke into the air. The north-bound lanes collapsed and the south-bound counterparts were compromised, according to the Philadelphia fire department.
Authorities have not publicly identified the lorry owner or the driver, indicated whether the driver survived, or said what exactly fuelled the blaze.
Governor Josh Shapiro signed a disaster declaration on Monday, saying it gives state agencies the ability to skip normal bidding and contracting requirements so that the road can be repaired more quickly.
The road collapsed after a tanker caught fire (Matt Rourke/AP)
Mr Shapiro said Sunday that no motorists on the highway were injured or died, although videos shared on social media showed some close calls, with people driving through as flames licked upward from the fire below.
Officials said the tanker contained what may have been hundreds of gallons of petrol. The fire took about an hour to get under control.
High heat from the fire or the impact of an explosion could have weakened the steel beams supporting the overpass, according to Drexel University structural engineering Professor Abi Aghayere.
Mr Shapiro said Sunday that no motorists on the highway were injured or died, although videos shared on social media showed some close calls, with people driving through as flames licked upward from the fire below.
Officials said the tanker contained what may have been hundreds of gallons of petrol. The fire took about an hour to get under control.
High heat from the fire or the impact of an explosion could have weakened the steel beams supporting the overpass, according to Drexel University structural engineering Professor Abi Aghayere.
Crews on the scene in Philadelphia (WPVI-TV/6ABC/AP)
Bridges like the one that collapsed do not typically have fire protection, like concrete casing, he added. It could have been coated in a fire-retarding paint, but even then the beams could have been weakened.
“It just gives you time,” he said.
The collapsed section of I-95 was part of a 212 million dollar (£170 million) reconstruction project that finished four years ago, state transportation department spokesman Brad Rudolph said.
The 104ft elevated section was in “good” condition earlier this year, with another inspection set for 2025.
Bridges like the one that collapsed do not typically have fire protection, like concrete casing, he added. It could have been coated in a fire-retarding paint, but even then the beams could have been weakened.
“It just gives you time,” he said.
The collapsed section of I-95 was part of a 212 million dollar (£170 million) reconstruction project that finished four years ago, state transportation department spokesman Brad Rudolph said.
The 104ft elevated section was in “good” condition earlier this year, with another inspection set for 2025.
Video from the scene showed a massive concrete slab had fallen from I-95 Interstate onto the road below in northeast Philadelphia.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Photograph of the Interstate 95 highway that collapsed in Philadelphia
Twitter/Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management
SHREYA BASAK
AP
UPDATED: 11 JUN 2023
An elevated section of Interstate 95 collapsed early Sunday in Philadelphia after a vehicle caught fire, closing the main north-south highway on the East Coast and threatening to upend travel in parts of the densely populated Northeast, authorities said.
Transportation officials warned of extensive delays and street closures and urged drivers to avoid the area.
Early reports indicated that the vehicle may have been a tanker truck, but officials could not immediately confirm that.
The fire was reported to be under control.
Video from the scene showed a massive concrete slab had fallen from I-95 onto the road below in northeast Philadelphia. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The northbound lanes of I-95 were gone, and the southbound lanes were “compromised” due to heat from the fire, said Derek Bowmer, battalion chief of the Philadelphia Fire Department.
Runoff from the fire or perhaps broken gas lines were causing explosions underground, he added.
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. As he passed the fire, the road beneath began to “dip”, creating a noticeable depression that was visible in video he took of the scene, he said.
He saw traffic in his rearview mirror come to a halt. Soon after, the northbound lanes of the highway crumbled.
“It was crazy timing,” Fusetti said. “For it to buckle and collapse that quickly, it's pretty remarkable.”
Officials were also concerned about the environmental effects of runoff into the nearby Delaware River.
“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, he said.
Officials planned to launch a drone to assess the damage.
SHREYA BASAK
AP
UPDATED: 11 JUN 2023
An elevated section of Interstate 95 collapsed early Sunday in Philadelphia after a vehicle caught fire, closing the main north-south highway on the East Coast and threatening to upend travel in parts of the densely populated Northeast, authorities said.
Transportation officials warned of extensive delays and street closures and urged drivers to avoid the area.
Early reports indicated that the vehicle may have been a tanker truck, but officials could not immediately confirm that.
The fire was reported to be under control.
Video from the scene showed a massive concrete slab had fallen from I-95 onto the road below in northeast Philadelphia. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The northbound lanes of I-95 were gone, and the southbound lanes were “compromised” due to heat from the fire, said Derek Bowmer, battalion chief of the Philadelphia Fire Department.
Runoff from the fire or perhaps broken gas lines were causing explosions underground, he added.
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. As he passed the fire, the road beneath began to “dip”, creating a noticeable depression that was visible in video he took of the scene, he said.
He saw traffic in his rearview mirror come to a halt. Soon after, the northbound lanes of the highway crumbled.
“It was crazy timing,” Fusetti said. “For it to buckle and collapse that quickly, it's pretty remarkable.”
Officials were also concerned about the environmental effects of runoff into the nearby Delaware River.
“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, he said.
Officials planned to launch a drone to assess the damage.
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.
More recently in Atlanta, a massive fire collapsed an elevated portion of Interstate 85, shutting down the heavily travelled route through the heart of the city in March 2017.
A homeless man was accused of starting the blaze, but federal investigators said in a report that the state transportation department's practice of storing combustible construction materials under the highway increased the risk of fire.
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.
More recently in Atlanta, a massive fire collapsed an elevated portion of Interstate 85, shutting down the heavily travelled route through the heart of the city in March 2017.
A homeless man was accused of starting the blaze, but federal investigators said in a report that the state transportation department's practice of storing combustible construction materials under the highway increased the risk of fire.
Philadelphia Highway Collapse Could Impact Major Interstate 'For a Long Time'
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he would declare an emergency on Monday so the state could access federal money for repairs, which could take months.
In this handout photo provided by the City of Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, smoke rises from a collapsed section of the I-95 highway on June 11, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to reports, a tanker fire underneath the highway caused the road to collapse.
(Photo: City of Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management via Getty Images)
COMMON DREAMS STAFF
Jun 11, 2023
A tanker truck fire caused a raised portion of Interstate 95 (I-95) to collapse in northeastern Philadelphia Sunday, indefinitely blocking one of the nation's busiest highways and threatening the Delaware River with an oil spill.
The fire and collapse was triggered by a crash under the northbound ramp around 6:15 am ET, The Associated Press reported. The fire then caused the northbound lanes above it to collapse and "compromised" the southbound ones, Derek Bowmer, battalion chief of the Philadelphia Fire Department, said. There have been no injuries reported at this time.
"I-95 will be impacted for a long time, for a long time," Philadelphia managing director Tumar Alexander said Sunday morning, as ThePhiladelphia Inquirer reported.
I-95 is the main East Coast artery connecting Florida to Maine, The Washington Post explained. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he would declare an emergency on Monday so the state could access federal money for repairs, according to the Inquirer.
"With regards to the complete rebuild of the I-95 roadway, we expect that to take some number of months," Shapiro said Sunday.
Shapiro added that the length of repairs would depend on the results of a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Pennsylvania State Police investigation into the cause of the crash.
"I found myself thanking the Lord that no motorists who were on I-95 were injured or died," Shapiro said Sunday, according to AP.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney promised to keep residents updated about detours and alternative routes.
The federal government has already pledged support to Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.
"The President has been briefed on the collapse and White House officials have been in contact with Governor Shapiro and Mayor Kenney's offices to offer assistance," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also said he was in contact with Shapiro, Kenney, and other regional leaders.
"This is a major artery for people and goods, and the closure will have significant impacts on the city and region until reconstruction and recovery are complete."
"This is a major artery for people and goods, and the closure will have significant impacts on the city and region until reconstruction and recovery are complete," he tweeted. "Our department will be there with support throughout the process of I-95 returning to normal."
The truck that caught fire had a capacity for 8,500 gallons of gasoline, the U.S. Coast Guard said, as The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. While it's not clear how much gasoline the truck was carrying, it was not empty.
The highway follows the Delaware River, and some of the gasoline drained into the waterway, The Washington Post reported.
"It hasn't made its way to the water that much," Ensign Josh Ledoux, a spokesperson for the Delaware Bay sector of the Coast Guard, told the Post.
The spilled oil has left a slight sheen on the river, the Inquirer reported, which authorities are attempting to contain with floating booms.
Otherwise, air and water quality have not been impacted by the crash, city agencies said.
Democratic strategist Larry Huynh pointed to the collapse as an example of why federal infrastructure funding is so important.
"People from every political perspective in America use I-95 in Philadelphia," he tweeted. "But only one party will defend it. What does a Republican do when they see roads like this? They steal our tax dollars, and give it to billionaires. Then they DEMAND spending cuts."
He noted that most Republicans opposed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021.
"Getting Republicans out is essential for our roads. For our country. For our lives," he said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he would declare an emergency on Monday so the state could access federal money for repairs, which could take months.
In this handout photo provided by the City of Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, smoke rises from a collapsed section of the I-95 highway on June 11, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to reports, a tanker fire underneath the highway caused the road to collapse.
(Photo: City of Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management via Getty Images)
COMMON DREAMS STAFF
Jun 11, 2023
A tanker truck fire caused a raised portion of Interstate 95 (I-95) to collapse in northeastern Philadelphia Sunday, indefinitely blocking one of the nation's busiest highways and threatening the Delaware River with an oil spill.
The fire and collapse was triggered by a crash under the northbound ramp around 6:15 am ET, The Associated Press reported. The fire then caused the northbound lanes above it to collapse and "compromised" the southbound ones, Derek Bowmer, battalion chief of the Philadelphia Fire Department, said. There have been no injuries reported at this time.
"I-95 will be impacted for a long time, for a long time," Philadelphia managing director Tumar Alexander said Sunday morning, as ThePhiladelphia Inquirer reported.
I-95 is the main East Coast artery connecting Florida to Maine, The Washington Post explained. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he would declare an emergency on Monday so the state could access federal money for repairs, according to the Inquirer.
"With regards to the complete rebuild of the I-95 roadway, we expect that to take some number of months," Shapiro said Sunday.
Shapiro added that the length of repairs would depend on the results of a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Pennsylvania State Police investigation into the cause of the crash.
"I found myself thanking the Lord that no motorists who were on I-95 were injured or died," Shapiro said Sunday, according to AP.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney promised to keep residents updated about detours and alternative routes.
The federal government has already pledged support to Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.
"The President has been briefed on the collapse and White House officials have been in contact with Governor Shapiro and Mayor Kenney's offices to offer assistance," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also said he was in contact with Shapiro, Kenney, and other regional leaders.
"This is a major artery for people and goods, and the closure will have significant impacts on the city and region until reconstruction and recovery are complete."
"This is a major artery for people and goods, and the closure will have significant impacts on the city and region until reconstruction and recovery are complete," he tweeted. "Our department will be there with support throughout the process of I-95 returning to normal."
The truck that caught fire had a capacity for 8,500 gallons of gasoline, the U.S. Coast Guard said, as The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. While it's not clear how much gasoline the truck was carrying, it was not empty.
The highway follows the Delaware River, and some of the gasoline drained into the waterway, The Washington Post reported.
"It hasn't made its way to the water that much," Ensign Josh Ledoux, a spokesperson for the Delaware Bay sector of the Coast Guard, told the Post.
The spilled oil has left a slight sheen on the river, the Inquirer reported, which authorities are attempting to contain with floating booms.
Otherwise, air and water quality have not been impacted by the crash, city agencies said.
Democratic strategist Larry Huynh pointed to the collapse as an example of why federal infrastructure funding is so important.
"People from every political perspective in America use I-95 in Philadelphia," he tweeted. "But only one party will defend it. What does a Republican do when they see roads like this? They steal our tax dollars, and give it to billionaires. Then they DEMAND spending cuts."
He noted that most Republicans opposed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021.
"Getting Republicans out is essential for our roads. For our country. For our lives," he said.
Every lane of I-95 is blocked thanks to a tanker truck crash in Philadelphia: ‘Today’s going to be a long day’
BYRON TODT AND THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
June 11, 2023
This screen grab from video provided by WPVI-TV/6ABC shows fire and smoke near the collapsed section of I-95 in Philadelphia on Sunday.
WPVI-TV/6ABC VIA AP
An elevated section of Interstate 95 collapsed early Sunday in Philadelphia after a tanker truck carrying a petroleum product caught fire, closing a heavily traveled segment of the East Coast’s main north-south highway indefinitely, authorities said.
Transportation officials warned of extensive delays and street closures and urged drivers to avoid the area in the northeast corner of the city. Officials said the tanker may have been hauling hundreds of gallons of gasoline. The fire was reported to be under control.
Video from the scene showed a massive concrete slab had fallen from I-95 onto the road below. There were no reports of injuries.
The northbound lanes of I-95 were gone, and the southbound lanes were “compromised” due to heat from the fire, said Derek Bowmer, battalion chief of the Philadelphia Fire Department. Runoff from the fire or perhaps broken gas lines were causing explosions underground, he added.
Some kind of crash happened on a ramp underneath northbound I-95 around 6:15 a.m. The northbound section above the fire collapsed quickly, state Transportation Department spokesman Brad Rudolph said.
Mark Fusetti, a retired Philadelphia police sergeant, said he was driving south toward the city’s airport when he noticed thick black smoke rising over the highway. As he passed the fire, the road beneath began to “dip,” creating a noticeable depression that was visible in video he took of the scene, he said.
He saw traffic in his rearview mirror come to a halt. Soon after, the northbound lanes of the highway crumbled.
“It was crazy timing,” Fusetti said. “For it to buckle and collapse that quickly, it’s pretty remarkable.”
The southbound lanes were heavily damaged, “and we are assessing that now,” Rudolph said Sunday afternoon.
There was no immediate time frame for reopening the highway, but Rudolph said officials would consider “a fill-in situation or a temporary structure” to accelerate the effort.
Motorists were sent on a 43-mile (69-kilometer) detour, which was going “better than it would do on a weekday,” Rudolph said. The fact that the collapse happened on a Sunday helped ease congestion.
He expected traffic “to back up significantly on all the detour areas.”
Most drivers traveling the I-95 corridor between Delaware and New York City use the New Jersey Turnpike rather than the segment of interstate where the collapse occurred. Until 2018, drivers did not have a direct highway connection between I-95 in Pennsylvania and I-95 in New Jersey. They had to use a few miles of surface roads, with traffic lights, to get from one to the other.
Officials were also concerned about the environmental effects of runoff into the nearby Delaware River.
“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.
Thousands of tons of steel and concrete were piled atop the site of the fire, he said, and heavy construction equipment would be required to start to remove the debris.
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.
More recently in Atlanta, an elevated portion of Interstate 85 collapsed in a fire, shutting down the heavily traveled route through the heart of the city in March 2017. A homeless man was accused of starting the blaze, but federal investigators said in a report that the state transportation department’s practice of storing combustible construction materials under the highway increased the risk of fire.
___
Associated Press writers Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Jake Offenhartz in New York contributed to this report.
BYRON TODT AND THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
June 11, 2023
This screen grab from video provided by WPVI-TV/6ABC shows fire and smoke near the collapsed section of I-95 in Philadelphia on Sunday.
WPVI-TV/6ABC VIA AP
An elevated section of Interstate 95 collapsed early Sunday in Philadelphia after a tanker truck carrying a petroleum product caught fire, closing a heavily traveled segment of the East Coast’s main north-south highway indefinitely, authorities said.
Transportation officials warned of extensive delays and street closures and urged drivers to avoid the area in the northeast corner of the city. Officials said the tanker may have been hauling hundreds of gallons of gasoline. The fire was reported to be under control.
Video from the scene showed a massive concrete slab had fallen from I-95 onto the road below. There were no reports of injuries.
The northbound lanes of I-95 were gone, and the southbound lanes were “compromised” due to heat from the fire, said Derek Bowmer, battalion chief of the Philadelphia Fire Department. Runoff from the fire or perhaps broken gas lines were causing explosions underground, he added.
Some kind of crash happened on a ramp underneath northbound I-95 around 6:15 a.m. The northbound section above the fire collapsed quickly, state Transportation Department spokesman Brad Rudolph said.
Mark Fusetti, a retired Philadelphia police sergeant, said he was driving south toward the city’s airport when he noticed thick black smoke rising over the highway. As he passed the fire, the road beneath began to “dip,” creating a noticeable depression that was visible in video he took of the scene, he said.
He saw traffic in his rearview mirror come to a halt. Soon after, the northbound lanes of the highway crumbled.
“It was crazy timing,” Fusetti said. “For it to buckle and collapse that quickly, it’s pretty remarkable.”
The southbound lanes were heavily damaged, “and we are assessing that now,” Rudolph said Sunday afternoon.
There was no immediate time frame for reopening the highway, but Rudolph said officials would consider “a fill-in situation or a temporary structure” to accelerate the effort.
Motorists were sent on a 43-mile (69-kilometer) detour, which was going “better than it would do on a weekday,” Rudolph said. The fact that the collapse happened on a Sunday helped ease congestion.
He expected traffic “to back up significantly on all the detour areas.”
Most drivers traveling the I-95 corridor between Delaware and New York City use the New Jersey Turnpike rather than the segment of interstate where the collapse occurred. Until 2018, drivers did not have a direct highway connection between I-95 in Pennsylvania and I-95 in New Jersey. They had to use a few miles of surface roads, with traffic lights, to get from one to the other.
Officials were also concerned about the environmental effects of runoff into the nearby Delaware River.
“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.
Thousands of tons of steel and concrete were piled atop the site of the fire, he said, and heavy construction equipment would be required to start to remove the debris.
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.
More recently in Atlanta, an elevated portion of Interstate 85 collapsed in a fire, shutting down the heavily traveled route through the heart of the city in March 2017. A homeless man was accused of starting the blaze, but federal investigators said in a report that the state transportation department’s practice of storing combustible construction materials under the highway increased the risk of fire.
___
Associated Press writers Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Jake Offenhartz in New York contributed to this report.
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