PHILADELPHIA, PA — Governor Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation Mike Carroll, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, U.S. Department of Transportation Under Secretary for Policy Carlos Monje, Ryan Boyer from the Philadelphia Building Trades Council, and contractors recently announced that the demolition of the damaged section of I-95 is expected to be complete ahead of schedule and that the Administration, engineers, and contractors have developed a plan to safely and quickly reopen the roadway.

In consultation with federal engineers from the Federal Highway Administration, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has hired a contractor — Philadelphia-based contractor Buckley & Company — to backfill the gap in the roadway so that it can be paved over and reopened safely and as quickly as possible. Once complete, cars and trucks can return to this portion of I-95 as crews work to rebuild a permanent bridge while keeping six lanes of traffic flowing at all times.

“When I visited this site just a few hours after the fire and collapse on Sunday, I made it clear that my Administration would lead a coordinated response to reopen I-95 safely and as efficiently as possible,” Shapiro said. “Getting I-95 repaired and reopened is our top priority, and we are working our tails off. Under the leadership of Secretary Carroll, and with the support of our federal and local partners and the talented trades workers right here in Philadelphia, we are moving full steam ahead. Government is working for the good people of Pennsylvania. We have a lot do to, and together, we will get this done.”

“There has been tremendous amounts of work occurring with people that are very talented and engineers that are able to design a forward-looking structure that meets the immediate needs of this community, this city, while also making sure that we have a structure that will serve the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for decades,” Carroll said.

Shapiro and Carroll have been in regular communication with President Joe Biden and Secretary Pete Buttigieg — who have pledged the full support of the federal government to provide the Commonwealth with the resources it needs to repair I-95.

“Our Highway Administration has released $3 million to support PennDOT’s traffic mitigation efforts, the demolition of the damaged structure that you see behind us, and the emergency repairs necessary to restore this essential traffic,” Monje said. “I’d like to commend Governor Shapiro and Secretary Carroll for their flawless response, and I’m really honored to be here with the working folks and the union members who are behind us.”

The Shapiro Administration has also been in regular contact with Kenney and other local and state leaders to ensure the Philadelphia community has the resources it needs as crews work to reopen the roadways.

“I want to thank the Governor and all the state and federal partners who have joined us in Philadelphia ... to assess and begin to address the impact of the I-95 collapse,” Kenney said. “I’m very grateful for the immediate coordinated response by state and local partners who worked quickly and around the clock to create detours and supports for commuters, travelers, residents, and local businesses affected by the disaster.”

PennDOT employees and contractors have been working 24/7 to complete demolition and begin the repair. Buckley & Company will deliver fill material from Delaware County to the site to fill in the damaged area in order to rebuild the new section of road on top. Abbonizio Contractors was hired to handle the demolition.

“We are the Philadelphia Building Trades — we work safe, we work hard, and for this, we want to work around the clock,” Boyer said. “I want to thank the federal response, the local response, and the state response. We have the right team here. We will make sure that this is done as quickly and as cleanly as possible.”