Jobsite Products, Inc. was on the job when a critical stretch of I-95 collapsed on Sunday, June 11th in Northeast Philadelphia. The failure occurred after an intense fire from a burning gasoline tanker weakened supporting steel girders under the highway, collapsing not only the road, but also the adjoining rail network. The collapsed roadway is one of the busiest interstates in the country, typically carrying about 1M vehicles through Philadelphia each week.
Initially it was predicted to take several months before this roadway would be in use again, but with support from PENNDOT and the engineering community, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro erected a plan to construct a temporary roadway, allowing six lanes of traffic to open much sooner while the permanent roadway is built. “I’ve directed my team…to move heaven and earth to get this done as soon as humanly possible,” President Biden said. “There’s no more important project right now in the country as far as I’m concerned.”
Jobsite Products, Inc. was part of this all-hands-on-deck approach as we delivered 500 INSTEEL welded wire forms to the site, via police escort, to assist in the emergency repair of the high-profile interstate. The wire forms were installed and used in conjunction with high-strength geogrids to contain the recycled glass aggregate vertical wall required to hold up the temporary lanes.
Thanks to multiple crews working around the clock, I95 opened on Friday, June 23, 2023, just under two weeks from the collapse, in an unprecedented turnaround timeline initially given by Governor Shapiro.
“I have 100% confidence in its ability to withstand the traffic. It’s safe, it’s sound, it’s ready to go to work.” – Mike Carroll, PA Transportation Secretary.
