By Editor-June 12th, 2023.
The I-95 Interstate Highway, one of the busiest roads in the entire US will closed for several weeks following a petroleum tanker conflagration that has damaged the highway and blocked traffic in both directions.
THe I-95 is the pricipal north-south highway route on the east coast of the US. Authorities are working on developing a diversion route, but it is expected that there will inevitably be major traffic delays in the area for several weeks.
The blaze was caused by an oil tanker on fire under the bridge according to local officials.
The partial collapse of the busy elevated freeway affected four lanes. Local media reported the fire started at 07:00 local time (11:00 GMT) when traffic was light. No injures have been reported so far.
The north-south highway is one of the busiest in the United States, connecting Maine to Florida and major cities along the East Coast. It remains closed in both directions in the Philadelphia area, officials said.
A section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia collapsed Sunday morning following a large tanker truck fire under the highway, city officials said.
The sudden cave-in of the busy stretch of roadway created an immediate traffic nightmare for the roughly 160,000 vehicles that pass through each day.
“Remarkable devastation,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a news conference Sunday evening after surveying the damage.
“I found myself thanking the lord that no motorists who were on I-95 were injured or died. It’s just a remarkably devastating sight,” he added.
