November 11, 2023 – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today that traffic was shifted on I-95, marking the completion of the first half of the new bridge to replace the fire-damaged structure at the Cottman Avenue Interchange in Northeast Philadelphia.
Crews moved and reset temporary construction barriers and repainted lane markings prior to shifting three lanes of northbound traffic and three lanes of southbound traffic onto the outer sections of the new span.
Following the traffic shifts, workers will begin removing the temporary structure in the center of I-95 that has been used to carry traffic since the reopening of the interstate on June 23, less than two weeks after a crash and fire of a tanker truck destroyed the bridge and northbound off-ramp.
The bulk of the material used in construction of the temporary roadway — an ultra-light foamed glass aggregate base provided by a Delaware County manufacturer — will be stored at a PennDOT facility for reuse.
The entire new structure and reconstruction of the lower portion of the Cottman Avenue off-ramp, is expected to be completed and the northbound interchange reopened in 2024.
For more information on the permanent reconstruction project, visit PennDOT’s I-95 Cottman Avenue Updates page.
