Portion of Interstate 95 collapses in Philadelphia after tanker fire burns under overpass

6abc TV ^ | June 11 2023 | 6abc Digital Staff

[texas booster]

Multiple lanes of Interstate 95 northbound in Philadelphia have collapsed after a tanker truck fire erupted underneath an overpass.

The fire broke out around 6 a.m. underneath I-95 near the Cottman Avenue exit in the Tacony section of the city.

Video from Chopper 6 showed the overpass carrying the northbound lanes of the highway were reduced to rubble.

The southbound lanes are also compromised, officials said.

All lanes of the highway are shut down between the exits for Woodhaven Road in Northeast Philadelphia and Aramingo Avenue in the Port Richmond section.

There has been no word on any injuries or if any other vehicles were involved.

[texas booster]

Crews are working to get the fire under control. It's not yet known what was inside the tanker truck, or why it caught fire.

Explosions could be heard in the area as the fumes seeped into manholes.

"Just really loud pops and it's, like, a little louder than gunshots," said Tacony resident Brian Kelly. "Almost like M80s. Little fireworks."

Everyone is being asked to avoid the scene.

"It smells like burning plastic mixed with, like, if you're standing right behind a car and it's blowing fumes in your face," said Tacony resident Sierra Jones.

"Today's going to be a long day. Obviously, with 95 northbound gone and southbound questionable, it's going to be even longer," Dominick Mireles, the director of the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management.

[smokingfrog]

That’s sure to create traffic jams for a long time.

[GMThrust]

Sounds like the beginning of a new but old movie, “Escape from Philladelphia”.

[texas booster]

[Rio]

It's a mess.

[going hot]

This is going to be difficult to explain, because you know concrete and steel don’t melt and burn to failure.

[Poser]

But... But... But... I thought steel wouldn’t melt even with jet fuel burning? /s

[americas.best.days...]

Mayor Pete will fix it as soon as pride month is over!

[texas booster]

Monday is gonna be fun for the WIP fans.

[going hot]

Ha! 2 min 13 sec

[JusPasenThru]

Collapsing infrastructure! Trump’s fault!

[texas booster]

Clearly 9/11 was nothing like this, so the Mark Cuban’s of the world can still be 9/11 truthers.

After all, tanker trucks only carry 9,000 gallons of fuel.

[smokingfrog]

https://6abc.com/interstate-95-collapse-i-95-fire-philly-overpass-tanker/13368736/

[bigbob]

hella detour...

[Thunder90]

The southbound overpass will need to be demolished as well.

[metmom]

It’s not like I 95 isn’t bad enough with traffic as it is.

This will really screw things up.

[smokingfrog]

He’s probably taking bids from LGBTQ+xyz road construction contractors as we speak.

[glaseatr]

A few years ago the same thing happened in Oakland CA. Messed up traffic for a month.
Caltrans said it would take 6 months. A private company was hired and had it done in 30 days.

[going hot]

Well, to be fair, it was only a small bridge, so 9K gallons is ok.

[texas booster]

9000 gallons x 6.25 lbs = 56,250 lbs of fuel.

I think that most planes can carry that or more.

No word if anyone else was involved, or if any fatalities.