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Collapsed section of I-95 to open in 2 weeks, PA governor says

Collapsed section of I-95 to open in 2 weeks, PA governor says
FROM PHILADELPHIA. GOVERNOR SHAPIRO SAYS A TEMPORARY FIX IS PLANNED FOR THE COLLAPSED SECTION OF I-90 FIVE HERE IN NORTHEAST PHILLY. HE SAYS THAT THIS WILL ALLOW FOR TRAFFIC TO START FLOWING AGAIN WHILE A PERMANENT RECONSTRUCTION CAN OCCUR. I CAN NOW REPORT THAT OUR DEMOLITION WILL BE DONE ON THURSDAY, AND ONCE THAT’S DONE, CONTRACTORS WILL BEGIN FILLING IN PART OF THE COLLAPSED SECTION OF I-95 WITH AN AGGREGATE MATERIAL COMPOSED WITH RECYCLED GLASS. WE HAVE DETERMINED COLLECTIVELY THAT THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO REOPEN I-90 FIVE IS TO BACKFILL THE GAP IN THE ROADWAY BEHIND ME AND THEN PAVE OVER IT. PENNDOT SECRETARY MIKE CARROLL SAYS THAT MEASURE WILL ALLOW FOR THREE LANES OF TRAFFIC IN BOTH DIRECTIONS TO OPERATE ON I-95, WHILE EFFORTS TO PERMANENTLY RECONSTRUCT THE BRIDGE TAKE PLACE. THE AGGREGATE THAT WE PUT IN WILL HAVE A 16 INCH ASPHALT OVERLAY AND WE WILL OPEN TRAFFIC AS SOON AS WE CAN. SHAPIRO SAID. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL BE PICKING UP THE TAB FOR CONSTRUCTION COSTS IN PHILADELPHIA, TO
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Collapsed section of I-95 to open in 2 weeks, PA governor says
Gov. Josh Shapiro joined President Joe Biden on Saturday for an aerial tour of the Interstate 95 construction site and briefed him on the Shapiro administration’s all-hands-on-deck response to get the highway reopened safely and as quickly as possible. During the briefing, Shapiro announced that I-95 will reopen within the next two weeks.“I can state with confidence that we will have I-95 reopened within the next two weeks,” Shapiro said at Philadelphia International Airport. “We are going to get traffic moving again thanks to the extraordinary work of those here and our incredible union trade workers.”After the aerial tour, Shapiro and key members of his cabinet – PA Emergency Management Agency Director Randy Padfield, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Chris Paris and Secretary of Transportation Mike Carroll – briefed the president on the initial response, the reconstruction plan, and the continued coordination between all levels of government.Since the first moments after the fire and collapse on Sunday morning, the Shapiro administration has been working around the clock to keep people safe and reopen the roadway as quickly as possible. Shapiro has led a coordinated response, working closely with the Biden Administration and local partners – and thanks to that 24/7 work and close coordination, crews are making fast progress on the rebuild of I-95.On Thursday, Shapiro announced that demolition of the damaged bridge and roadway had been completed in just four days – ahead of schedule and beating some experts’ prediction of more than a week. That same day, the Pennsylvania State Police escorted truckloads of foamed glass aggregate fill from AeroAggregates in Delaware County up I-95 to the construction site to make sure they arrived as quickly as possible.Members of the Philadelphia Building Trades, working for Philadelphia-based contractor Buckley & Company, have begun pouring the foamed glass aggregate into the gap in the roadway, building it up to the surface level of I-95. They will continue working 24/7 through the holiday weekend to reopen the highway as quickly as possible.Shapiro will continue to lead a coordinated local, state, and federal response to get traffic moving again on I-95 in Northeast Philadelphia.
PHILADELPHIA —

Gov. Josh Shapiro joined President Joe Biden on Saturday for an aerial tour of the Interstate 95 construction site and briefed him on the Shapiro administration’s all-hands-on-deck response to get the highway reopened safely and as quickly as possible. During the briefing, Shapiro announced that I-95 will reopen within the next two weeks.

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“I can state with confidence that we will have I-95 reopened within the next two weeks,” Shapiro said at Philadelphia International Airport. “We are going to get traffic moving again thanks to the extraordinary work of those here and our incredible union trade workers.”

After the aerial tour, Shapiro and key members of his cabinet – PA Emergency Management Agency Director Randy Padfield, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Chris Paris and Secretary of Transportation Mike Carroll – briefed the president on the initial response, the reconstruction plan, and the continued coordination between all levels of government.

Since the first moments after the fire and collapse on Sunday morning, the Shapiro administration has been working around the clock to keep people safe and reopen the roadway as quickly as possible. Shapiro has led a coordinated response, working closely with the Biden Administration and local partners – and thanks to that 24/7 work and close coordination, crews are making fast progress on the rebuild of I-95.

On Thursday, Shapiro announced that demolition of the damaged bridge and roadway had been completed in just four days – ahead of schedule and beating some experts’ prediction of more than a week. That same day, the Pennsylvania State Police escorted truckloads of foamed glass aggregate fill from AeroAggregates in Delaware County up I-95 to the construction site to make sure they arrived as quickly as possible.

Members of the Philadelphia Building Trades, working for Philadelphia-based contractor Buckley & Company, have begun pouring the foamed glass aggregate into the gap in the roadway, building it up to the surface level of I-95. They will continue working 24/7 through the holiday weekend to reopen the highway as quickly as possible.

Shapiro will continue to lead a coordinated local, state, and federal response to get traffic moving again on I-95 in Northeast Philadelphia.