The US Federal Highway Administration is working with state and local officials to expedite repairs to a collapsed bridge carrying I-95 near Philadelphia as well as temporarily expand transit capacity in the region, the agency’s chief said.
“We are major focused on getting the road opened as soon as possible,” Shailen Bhatt, FHWA administrator, testified Wednesday before the Senate Environment and Public Works committee. “I’m acutely aware of the impact this closure is having.”
A section of the highway, the longest north-south interstate on the East Coast, collapsed during a tanker-truck fire on Sunday. Northbound and southbound lanes will be closed for months, according to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
Shapiro announced Wednesday a plan to use backfill to temporarily reopen several lanes of the highway while the bridge is rebuilt.
Bhat called it an “innovative approach” that could expedite repairs. He didn’t provide details or an estimate of when the road could be reopened.
I-95 Collapse Upends Major East Coast Trucking, Travel Route
The 1,924-mile (3,096-kilometer) interstate runs from Miami to the Maine-Canada border.
“It’s a major artery not just for Pennsylvania but for the whole East Coast,” Senator John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, said. He asked about using emergency funds to boost transit ridership in the area to relieve some of the congestion.
Bhatt said he has been in touch with officials about expanding capacity provided by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.
“SEPTA is a critical link in that corridor,” Bhatt said.
