Column that crippled I-95 will be replaced
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation yesterday announced that it would replace the damaged steel-reinforced-concrete column beneath I-95 in Port Richmond that last week crippled the freeway. Construction is to begin this afternoon, and the job will take about six weeks.
The agency said that after the 15-feet tall column is removed, it will be replaced with a steel-reinforced concrete support. The work will not disrupt traffic flow on the expressway, which at that point carries 180,000 vehicles a day. The contractor is J.D. Eckman Inc. of Atglen and the job will cost about $650,000.
The closure of the freeway, which began March 17 and ended before last Thursday's morning rush, crippled the neighborhood along the three-mile stretch of I-95 between the Girard Avenue and Betsy Ross Bridge interchanges.
- Inquirer staff























