Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said repairs “will take months.”
Repairs on Interstate 95 will take “months” after a high-rise collapsed in Philadelphia Sunday morning and a tanker truck carrying flammable cargo caught fire under an overpass, officials said.
“As for the complete reconstruction of I-95, we expect it to take several months,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said at a press conference Sunday evening, “planning to issue a disaster declaration to speed up the process” and “immediately cut federal funds.”
Shapiro said he spoke directly with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who assured him there would be “absolutely no delay” in getting federal funding to safely and quickly rebuild a “critical road.”
Meanwhile, officials are “looking at interim solutions to connect both sides of I-95,” according to Shapiro. All lanes between the exits for Philadelphia’s Woodhaven Road and Aramingo Avenue are closed in both directions indefinitely. Local ABC station WPVI reported.
The north side of the affected area “completely collapsed,” while the southbound lanes were “not structurally sound enough to carry any traffic,” Shapiro said. According to the governor, a vehicle was trapped under the collapsed road.
“We are still working to identify any individual or individuals involved in the fire and collapse,” he said, later clarifying that no one on I-95 at the time was injured or killed in the incident.
According to a report from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reviewed by ABC News on Monday, investigators with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation determined that the southbound section could not be reopened and would have to be replaced.
The top of the collapsed flyover is now intact, although investigations are ongoing. Gasoline from the tanker truck flowed into storm drains and a sheen was seen in the waters of the nearby cove of the Delaware River, which flows 282 miles along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. The U.S. Coast Guard remains on scene and will continue to work with the Philadelphia Water Department to determine other potential environmental impacts from the fire in the major waterway, the report said.
The tanker truck was carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline at the time, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Kimberly Reeves.
I-95 is one of America’s busiest travel routes and serves as the main north-south highway on the East Coast. According to a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the affected area in Philadelphia averages more than 160,000 vehicles each day.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the collapse and his administration has been in contact with Shapiro and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Federal Highway Administrator Shaylan Butt will extend federal support and assistance to Philadelphia on Monday.
A team of experts from the National Transportation Safety Board, in coordination with the Pennsylvania State Police, will be on site Monday to begin the visual portion of their safety investigation into the incident. According to NTSP, the initial report will be available in two to three weeks.
ABC News’ Victoria Arancio, Matt Foster, Amanda Miley and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.
