PHILADELPHIA - Motorists who frequently use Interstate 95 should prepare to reroute their commute for the foreseeable future as crews work to repair a collapsed stretch of highway. "Just devastating honestly, the traffic is already pretty bad because 95 has been under construction for a while," Emily Orlando from Northeast Philadelphia told FOX 29.Officials say the collapse happened Sunday morning when a tanker truck hauling gasoline overturned underneath an overpass and exploded, causing the highway above to give way.
The driver of the truck, identified told FOX 29 by family members as Nathaniel Moody, was killed in the explosion. Miraculously, however, there were no reported injuries to motorists or bystanders. RELATED COVERAGEOfficials said the southbound side of the highway will need to be demolished and rebuilt along with the northbound lanes.
The stretch of highway is expected to take months to rebuild. Meanwhile, the estimated 160,000 travelers who use the stretch of highway daily are now tasked with discovering a new way to get to and from their destinations.
The City of Philadelphia on Monday night shared a list of detours and closures that are expected to change throughout the rebuild: The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is suggesting that motorists coming from I-95 South use West Woodhaven Road to Roosevelt Boulevard onto the Schuykill Expressway the to the Vine Street Expressway.