I-95 reopening pushed back
Highway officials were a little too optimistic about when Interstate 95 would be reopened for traffic. The original estimate was midnight, but the time had to be extended to 5 a.m. at the earliest. If that held, it would be early enough to allow the morning rush to proceed unimpeded after the two-day shutdown to allow emergency repairs of a large crack in a highway support column in Port Richmond.
Highway officials were a little too optimistic about when Interstate 95 would be reopened for traffic.
The original estimate was midnight, but the time had to be extended to 5 a.m. at the earliest. If that held, it would be early enough to allow the morning rush to proceed unimpeded after the two-day shutdown to allow emergency repairs of a large crack in a highway support column in Port Richmond.
The interstate was closed late Monday after a bridge inspector discovered the crack (about 2 inches wide and 6 feet long) in the support column at Richmond Street between Ann and Cambria.
A two-mile section of the highway had been closed between Girard and Allegheny Avenues, causing massive traffic delays.
The opening of the crack was considerably larger than it had been last October, so a decision was made to close the highway and fix it.
PennDOT mobilized its contractor, J.D. Eckman Inc., of Atglen, Chester County, and crews showed up early Monday to begin work to install four steel support towers next to the damaged 15-foot-high column.
The towers were completed yesterday but workers still had several steps to finish, including load tests that would determine whether the roadway was safe.
PennDOT already had plans to start construction later this year to make structural repairs at several locations along I-95 in Philadelphia, including the area being repaired in Port Richmond.
"This part of I-95 was built in the 1960s, and this section alone needs $1.9 billion worth of reconstruction," the governor's office said. *
