PHILADELPHIA, June 12 (Reuters) – Human remains were recovered on Monday from a collapsed Interstate 95 overpass in Philadelphia as crews removed concrete debris from the site of a fiery weekend highway collapse that closing one of the busiest traffic corridors along the US East Coast.
A section of I-95 was closed in both directions after a tanker truck hauling gasoline caught fire Sunday, causing the pavement to crack and collapse. Authorities did not say how the fuel was ignited.
As excavation teams labored to clear rubble from the site on Monday, a body was recovered from the wreckage and turned over to the Philadelphia County Medical Examiner for identification, state police said in a statement.
The truck driver, Nathaniel Moody, was not identified after the accident, local ABC affiliate WPVI-TV reported.
During the morning commute, local traffic reporters said bumper-to-bumper traffic was seen near the collapse and along alternate routes, but it appeared few motorists were heeding the warnings. warning to take public transportation or stay at home.
“Things are clearly getting worse in the heart of rush hour,” KYW News Radio traffic reporter Justin Drabic said around 8 a.m. EST (1200 GMT).
He noted that Monday is usually a light traffic day. “Tomorrow will be the real test.”
Workers and investigators spent the morning and early afternoon surveying the damage at the scene as an excavator dug into the rubble and moved large pieces of concrete where part of the highway once stood.
Officials say it will take several months to rebuild part of I-95, the main north-south highway along the East Coast, which runs from Miami to the Canadian border in Maine.
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the federal government is working with the state of Pennsylvania to restore the highway.
[1/4] A scene after the collapse of a portion of the I-95 highway after a fuel tanker exploded underneath it, in Philadelphia, U.S. June 11, 2023 in this image taken from a video by social media. Courtesy of Billy Kyle/via REUTERS
“It’s going to be a huge disruption in that region,” Buttigieg said. He did not specify an exact timetable for a recovery but said “it’s definitely not days. I mean if it is weeks we’re not talking about a couple.”
The head of the Federal Highway Administration plans to visit the site, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro issued a disaster declaration on Monday, freeing up federal funds to help rebuild part of a highway used by 160,000 vehicles each day.
He also encouraged residents to find alternative routes, take commuter trains or work from home.
Shipping companies UPS ( UPS.N ) and FedEx ( FDX.N ) said they were making changes.
Buttigieg said the department plans to use emergency relief funding to help rebuild but did not specify the amount.
The closed section of I-95 is a major distribution route for goods, he said. “It’s not just about the journeys – it’s also the supply chain.”
Andy Herrmann, former president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, said the bridges were not designed to withstand the heat of a tanker truck fire, which can be upwards of 2,000 Fahrenheit (1,090 Celsius), and that such incidents are not uncommon. .
Herrmann said Sunday’s collapse could prompt discussion about changing bridge design requirements, but it’s hard to see how the U.S. can afford to upgrade the nation’s many overpasses. .
“I mean, they’re looking to maintain the basic safety of the bridges because of deterioration,” he said.
Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in Philadelphia, David Shepardson in Washington Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas, and Andrea Shalal in Washington; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Lisa Shumaker and Mark Heinrich
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
