Rain delays I-95 repairs; when will damaged road reopen now?

Chris Ullery, Bucks County Courier Times

Inclement weather has slowed repairs to a damaged bridge that closed a stretch northbound I-95 in Philadelphia, though a PennDOT official says contractors are still confident the project will finish this weekend.

I-95 north has been closed at the Betsy Ross Bridge/Aramingo Avenue Interchange since Monday, after an oversized tractor-trailer struck a Conrail bridge that afternoon.

Conrail crews expected to finish repairs and have the interstate reopened on Friday, but recent rainstorms appear to have delayed that target.

An I-95 traffic sign and access ramp on Adams Ave that drivers are being detoured to because of the temporary closure of I-95 North due to an emergency overhead bridge repair in Northeast Philadelphia on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.
An I-95 traffic sign and access ramp on Adams Ave that drivers are being detoured to because of the temporary closure of I-95 North due to an emergency overhead bridge repair in Northeast Philadelphia on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.

"Conrail's contractor has removed the damaged bridge components and is replacing them with new materials," PennDOT spokeswoman Krys Johnson said in an email Thursday. "Although the work was delayed due to inclement weather, Conrail remains optimistic that the contractor will complete the job expeditiously this weekend."

PennDOT, the Philadelphia Police Department and the Philadelphia Streets Deparment will continue collaborating to manage traffic in the surrounding area.

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Traffic is currently detoured using the Betsy Ross/Aramingo Avenue Interchange at Exit 26, turning right onto Aramingo Avenue and then right onto Adams Avenue to access the ramp to I-95 North.

During repairs, the ramp from Castor Avenue to I-95 northbound is also closed and detoured. Again, motorists are directed toward Aramingo Avenue to access the onramp at Adams Avenue.

The Betsy Ross/Aramingo Avenue interchange was also the start of nine-mile closure along I-95 last June, after a tractor trailer hauling gasoline flipped over on an I-95 off-ramp, causing a fire that collapsed and closed travel in both directions.

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That closure detoured traffic on I-95 up to state Route 63/Woodhaven Road, but only for just under two weeks as crews worked around the clock to rebuild a vital highway that runs along 15 states on the United State's eastern shore.

Information on the reopening will be issued through a PennDOT press release, posted to the @511PAPhilly X account, and the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management’s ReadyPhiladelphia free alert system.

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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Rain storms delay reopening I-95 in Philadelphia as crews work nonstop

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