Following traffic delays and nightmarish commutes, the collapsed portion of Interstate 95 in Northeast Philadelphia will reopen with six temporary lanes Friday at noon.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll announced on Tuesday that the collapsed portion of the interstate would reopen ahead of the originally projected two-week timeline, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
“We have worked around the clock to get this done, and we’ve completed each phase safely and ahead of schedule,” Shapiro said.
The temporary repair, which completed demolition in four days, beating original estimates, relied on glass aggregate from Delaware County’s AeroAggregates to build up the I-95 roadway gap.
Crews will continue to work on the interstate to pave three new lanes heading in both directions.
Glass recycling by Burlington County residents helped get the road back open.
Burlington County is one of the major suppliers of recycled glass to AeroAggregates, which used ultra-light, foamed glass aggregate rocks crushed from the recycled glass as fill for the I-95 repair.
Last year, Burlington County shipped more than 7,100 tons of glass to the Delaware County, Pennsylvania, company.
“Burlington County has supplied AeroAggregates with crushed recycled glass for the past four years. It’s a great partnership and we were thrilled to learn that the company’s rocks were being used to build the temporary highway on I-95,” said Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Tom Pullion. “It’s a great example of where recycling ends up and how it can make a difference. Every glass bottle and jar we toss into recycling containers matters, so we encourage our residents to continue to recycle right.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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