Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Says I-95 Could Re-Open Wednesday Night

Calls Problem A ‘Wake Up Call’ For National Infrastructure Funding

March 18, 2008 -- PHILADELPHIA – PennDOT and contractors are working around the clock to re-open a two-mile section of Interstate 95, Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell announced today during a press conference under a damaged section of the highway. He said he is cautiously optimistic that the interstate will reopen by Wednesday night.

Deserted I-95 highway in Pennsylvania: Photo by Kyle Gradinger (CC)

“I applaud the efforts of PennDOT and all of its partners who responded so quickly to this monumental challenge,” Governor Rendell said. “This corridor is crucial to the economic wellbeing of the region and we are hopeful that we can reopen I-95 tomorrow night.”

“The seven-inch buckling of the Birmingham Bridge in Pittsburgh and now the discovery of this large crack under I-95 are a wake up for us,” Governor Rendell said, referring to the Feb. 8 structural problem that caused the closure of the State Route 2085 Birmingham Bridge in Pittsburgh just three days after he called on the General Assembly to approve investing $200 million per year to fix 1,000 state bridges in the next three years.

“Public safety comes first,” the Governor said. “This incident clearly demonstrates that we need a greater investment in our infrastructure –here in Pennsylvania and across the nation.

“We have 6,000 bridges waiting to be repaired,” he said. “This is how serious and how immediate the problem is. It’s not only a state problem and a local problem, but a regional and national problem that must be addressed. The state can do its part if the General Assembly moves quickly to pass the bridge investment initiative I have proposed.”

PennDOT mobilized its contractor, J.D. Eckman Inc., of Atglen, Chester County, and crews from that company were on site early this morning to begin work to install four steel support towers next to the damaged 15-foot-high column.

Late last night, PennDOT closed north and southbound I-95 after a bridge inspector discovered a large crack (approximately 2 inches wide and 6 feet long) in the highway support column. Detours are posted to move traffic around the closed two-mile section.

PennDOT already has plans to start construction later this year on a project to make structural repairs at several locations along I-95 in Philadelphia, and this particular column was to be repaired as part of that project. This part of I-95 was built in the 1960s, and this section alone needs $1.9 billion worth of reconstruction. To date, PennDOT has only identified about $350 million over the next four years. The estimate for additional repairs to I-95 in the region is approximately $4 billion.

A map of the PennDOT detour around the I-95 closure is available at: ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/Bureaus/Press/I95/I95EmergencyDetours.d...

Governor Rendell continues to push for additional federal investment in infrastructure through the Building America’s Future coalition he formed earlier this year with co-chairs California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Governors of more than a dozen states have already joined the coalition’s efforts.

The Building America’s Future coalition will be comprised of state- and locally elected officials from around the nation and will become a repository of best practices on infrastructure funding issues. In the short-term, the coalition will work with the presidential candidates and the platform committees of the national political parties to ensure that the next president understands the enormity of the infrastructure crisis and is committed to increasing federal funding. Additional information about the coalition is available at www.InvestInInfrastructure.org.

Source: Pennsylvania Governor

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