Gov. to issue disaster declaration after I-95 collapses in Philly. Shutdown to last ‘months'

Editor's Note (June 12, 2023, 9:40 a.m.): This story is no longer being updated. You will find updates from Monday at this link.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will issue a disaster declaration on Monday to begin repairs on Interstate 95 after a truck fire caused a portion of the highway to collapse in Northeast Philadelphia Sunday morning, sparking major traffic delays that are expected to intensify this week.

During a news conference early Sunday evening, Shapiro said that the complete rebuild of I-95 is expected to take "some number of months" and that they would have a specific timeline for the reconstruction following a review from engineers and PennDOT officials. He also said officials were working on interim solutions to connect both sides of the highway.

“To expedite this process and to cut through the red tape, tomorrow morning I plan to issue a disaster declaration, allowing the Commonwealth to immediately draw down federal funds and move quickly to repair and reconstruct this roadway,” Shapiro said. “I’ve spoken directly to Secretary Pete Buttigeig of the United States Department of Transportation, along with Senator Casey, Congressman Boyle and other federal officials.”

Shapiro said all of the state’s federal partners pledged “complete and total support and assistance” in creating alternative routes for motorists during the rebuild. 

“Secretary Buttigieg has assured me that there will be absolutely no delay in getting federal funds deployed to quickly help us rebuild this critical artery,” Shapiro said. “I-95 of course is a critical roadway. It supports our economy and plays an important role in our everyday lives.”

Video from the scene showed a massive concrete slab had fallen from I-95 onto the road below. Shapiro said his flight over the area showed “just remarkable devastation.”

"I found myself thanking the Lord that no motorists who were on I-95 were injured or died,” he said.

While no injuries or deaths have been reported, officials continue to work to determine if the truck's driver was in the area or if anyone was trapped during the fire and collapse.

Crews were already working before daybreak Monday to dig through the debris. A construction vehicle could be seen digging to get to the truck under the collapse.

PennDOT will also continue to provide updates on the rebuild on their website.

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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a Twitter post that President Joe Biden was briefed on the collapse and that White House officials were in contact with Gov. Shapiro and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s offices to offer assistance.

“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,” Transportation Secretary Buttigieg said in a social media post.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also said it was sending a team to investigate the fire and collapse.

What we know about the fire so far

The ordeal began around 6:20 a.m. Sunday when a commercial truck carrying a "petroleum-based product" caught fire underneath the I-95 off-ramp near the Cottman Avenue exit in Northeast Philadelphia.

Just before 7 a.m., smoke and flames could be seen pouring from a burning truck near the Cottman Avenue off-ramp to I-95. The fire caused a portion of the I-95 off-ramp to collapse, closing the highway in both directions between the Woodhaven and Aramingo exits.

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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.”

Officials told NBC10's Randy Gyllenhaal that the roadway was "gone" following the collapse. At about 7 a.m., police vehicles were spotted blocking traffic onto the northbound section of the highway at the Aramingo Avenue exit.

Shortly before 9 a.m., Philadelphia Fire Department Captain Derrick Bowmer said the northbound lanes of I-95 were gone and the southbound lanes were "compromised" by heat and fire. Runoff from the fire or perhaps broken gas lines caused explosions underground, he added.

"We will be here for awhile," he said. "We have fire coming out of those manholes."

Firefighters eventually brought the flames under control but remained at the scene throughout the day. While no injuries have been reported, officials are still working to identify anyone who may have been caught in the fire or collapse.

For drivers trying to navigate the city, NBC10 provided a few alternate ways to avoid gridlocked traffic.

Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Michael Carroll said the I-95 segment carries roughly 160,000 vehicles per day and was likely the busiest interstate in Pennsylvania. He said work would continue through the night to remove the collapsed section as rapidly as possible.

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.

The collapsed section of I-95 was part of a $212 million reconstruction project that wrapped up four years ago, state Transportation Department spokesman Brad Rudolph said. There was no immediate time frame for reopening the highway, but officials would consider “a fill-in situation or a temporary structure” to accelerate the effort, he said.

Motorists were sent on a 43-mile 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, but he expected traffic "to back up significantly on all the detour areas.”

Officials were also concerned about the environmental effects of runoff into the nearby Delaware River.

After a sheen was seen in the Delaware River near the collapse site, the Coast Guard deployed a boom to contain the material. Ensign Josh Ledoux said the tanker had a capacity of 8,500 gallons, but the contents did not appear to be spreading into the environment.

“As far as waterways go, it’s being contained, and it seems like things are under control,” he said.

Thousands of tons of steel and concrete were piled atop the site of the fire, and heavy construction equipment would be required to start to remove the debris, said Dominick Mireles, director of Philadelphia’s Office of Emergency Management.

The repairs will also lead to delays in the city's trash collection, according to Mayor Kenney.

“City agencies are working with our state partners to respond to the partial collapse of I-95 from a vehicle fire. Please avoid the area and plan for alternative routes of travel. We will continue to provide updates on this incident,” Kenney said. “I want to thank our first responders, PennDOT, SEPTA, and all our state and local partners for your continued response to this incident. And thank you Governor Shapiro for coming to Philadelphia and for your continued support. Coordination between state, city agencies, and elected officials, has been, and will continue to be essential to our emergency response effort as well as with recovery and reconstruction.”

Similar fires in the past

This 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.

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.