Rebuilding of collapsed portion of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia hits another milestone

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The rebuilding of the collapsed portion of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia hit another milestone on Thursday.

The last of the eight 100-foot beams was installed.

That means work crews will soon be able to start building permanent lanes over Cottman Avenue.

Those beams, state officials say, hold the two bridges on either side of the temporary roadway.

The work is being done in record time.

Officials said Thursday that the installation would normally take 12 months - but the work on I-95 only took two months, and that is despite supply chain issues and delays with raw materials.

Now that the beams are installed, Buckley Construction can move on to the next phase: rebuilding the permanent overpasses to make way for the new permanent lanes of I-95 northbound.

Members of Governor Josh Shapiro's administration and Mayor Kenney were on hand praising the record pace at which work is being done, including how durable the temporary bridge has been since the June collapse.

"It's tested on a regular basis for settlement and it hasn't moved one iota since the day we installed it," said Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll.

They continue to ask drivers to be patient with continued traffic delays as crews work. Most of the work will be done in the overnight hours.

Buckley Construction added that workers haven't had a day off in a month.

I-95 in Northeast Philadelphia was closed in both directions at the Cottman Avenue Interchange on Sunday, June 11, after a tanker truck crash and fire that destroyed the bridge over Cottman Avenue.

An interim six-lane roadway was constructed in less than two weeks, with crews working around the clock to get traffic flowing again.

PennDOT says the entire $25 to $30 million project should be complete by June of 2024.