NSBA Congratulates PennDOT, High Steel for I-95 Reopening Five Months After Truck Fire

CHICAGO – Philadelphia drivers along a stretch of Interstate 95 are once again traveling on permanent lanes, thanks to extraordinary collaboration between the Pennsylvania government and local partners like High Steel Structures.

The first section of six permanent lanes opened November 6. Authorities expect to complete the other six and reopen the northbound interchange next year.

That section of I-95 closed less than five months ago after a June 11 tanker truck crash and subsequent fire damaged an overpass. A temporary six-lane roadway opened just 12 days later to get traffic flowing again. 

“High Steel Structures has had the honor of helping Pennsylvania recover from the I-95 bridge collapse in Philadelphia,” High Steel President John O’Quinn said. “When emergencies like that happen, our team and the overall steel industry steps up and delivers. From the moment the word of the accident hit the news, the industry’s collaboration and sense of urgency to assist in any manner possible became the ultimate focus.

“The steel mills, suppliers, and even our everyday competitors were all reaching out immediately with the collective goal of providing whatever resources were required to get I-95 opened back up as quickly as possible. It’s a true testament to our industry’s ability to mobilize quickly and efficiently in these emergency situations.”

High Steel was tapped as the fabricator for the new bridge in the days following the crash. It fabricated 16 106- to 108-ft girders, the first of which arrived onsite in late August. Eight of those support the newly opened lanes. The other eight will be installed in the second phase of the project, which will reconstruct the other six lanes and reopen the road underneath the bridge. That part is expected to finish in 2024. 

“This is yet another example of structural steel getting drivers back on the road quickly,” said National Steel Bridge Alliance Senior Director of Market Development Jeff Carlson, PE. “The industry has a history of rallying to get emergency repairs off the ground at lightning speed, and I’m proud that steel has come to the rescue yet again.”

You’ll be able to read more about the I-95 project and other emergency steel bridge repairs in the December 2023 issue of Modern Steel Construction.

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For more information contact:

Dani Friedland
Director of Marketing Communications
773.636.8535
[email protected]

About the National Steel Bridge Alliance

The National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA), a division of the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) is a national, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of steel bridge design and construction. The NSBA functions as the voice of the bridge fabricators and steel mills while also partnering with the bridge design and construction community. The NSBA’s partners include the American Association of State Highway and Transportation (AASHTO), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), state departments of transportation (DOTs), design consultant, contractors, and academia. With these resources, NSBA is uniquely positioned to find solutions to the toughest bridge challenges, including those related to cost, sustainability, and performance.

About the American Institute of Steel Construction

The American Institute of Steel Construction, headquartered in Chicago, is a non-partisan, not-for-profit technical institute and trade association established in 1921 to serve the structural steel design community and construction industry. AISC’s mission is to make structural steel the material of choice by being the leader in structural steel-related technical and market-building activities, including specification and code development, research, education, technical assistance, quality certification, standardization, market development, and advocacy. AISC has a long tradition of service to the steel construction industry of providing timely and reliable information.