I-95 detour in Philadelphia is reopened, but crews are still working in the area

The I-95 detour had its own detour Friday.

The southbound detour around the I-95 collapse site in Northeast Philadelphia was temporarily closed Friday morning due to downed wires, according to police.

A utility pole collapsed onto a car driving on State Road near Princeton Avenue in Tacony, according to multiple reports, forcing officials to shut down the detour route for vehicles traveling around the collapse site on I-95.

The detour was fully reopened around 10:30 a.m., but officials warned that crews were still working in the area.

Police recommended drivers use alternate routes going southbound, such as Roosevelt Boulevard, and avoid side streets if possible. Southbound drivers can also avoid the area entirely by using the Burlington-Bristol Bridge to head into New Jersey, then cross back to I-95 by taking the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge or the Betsy Ross Bridge.

On Thursday, crews finished demolishing the southbound I-95 bridge over the Cottman Avenue exit, which was damaged by a tanker truck fire that collapsed the northbound side Sunday.

The next step in the highway’s reconstruction will be trucking in 2,000 tons of recycled glass pieces to fill in the demolished section, allowing crews to build a temporary six-lane highway and reopen I-95, which has been closed in both directions since the collapse. There is no timeline for when I-95 will fully reopen.

The full repair is expected to take months. PennDot has a livestream for residents to watch the reconstruction efforts live.