Tacony-Palmyra Bridge reopens after brief closure from fire

The Tacony-Palmyra Bridge reopened to traffic Sunday night after a semi-truck trailer caught fire beneath it, prompting officials to close all lanes for about three hours.

The Philadelphia Fire Department responded to the area around 4:40 p.m. and found a trailer ablaze, with no truck attached, said department spokesperson Rachel Cunningham. Black smoke billowed from the scene, near the 6400 block of State Road in Philly, and clouded over the bridge.

Within about two hours, the fire was under control, Cunningham said. There were no reports of injuries, and the cause of the fire remained under investigation, she said.

The bridge was closed to all traffic for about three hours. Just after 8 p.m. Sunday, drivers were again making their way across.

The Burlington County Bridge Commission, which oversees and operates the bridge, shut it down out of an abundance of caution due to the heavy smoke and to reduce traffic coming into the area, said Dave Levinsky, spokesperson for Burlington County.

The Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, built in 1929, extends over the Delaware River and connects Levick Street in Philadelphia’s Tacony section with Palmyra, N.J.

The closure comes just a month after a portion of I-95 collapsed just a short distance north, after a tanker truck crashed and exploded beneath a highway overpass.