“I was grateful that no drivers on I-95 were harmed or killed,” he expressed.

The operator of a tractor-trailer transporting gasoline lost control on an off-ramp, causing the tanker truck to overturn and catch fire, resulting in the destruction of a portion of the primary north-south highway on the East Coast, as stated by Pennsylvania’s top transportation official on Monday.

In the initial official report of the incident that disrupted hundreds of thousands of morning commutes and impacted numerous businesses, State Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll explained that the driver was heading northbound, “attempting to navigate the curve, lost control of the vehicle, tipped over, and ruptured the tank.”

Consequently, Interstate 95 will be shut down in both directions for several weeks at the beginning of the summer travel season. Carroll mentioned that both the elevated southbound and northbound sections of I-95 will need to be demolished. Transportation authorities advised motorists to avoid the northeast corner of the sixth-largest city in the country.

VIDEO CAPTURES DIP IN ROAD MOMENTS BEFORE PHILADELPHIA I-95 COLLAPSE

Pennsylvania State Police reported that a body recovered from the wreckage has been handed over to the Philadelphia medical examiner and coroner. Authorities are working on identifying the remains, according to the police.

The incident also disrupted the automotive route from Canada to Florida through the metropolitan areas of Boston, New York, and Washington, leading to an increased reliance on air travel and the interstate rail network by Americans.

Videos circulating on social media depicted several near misses around the accident site, with individuals driving through the area while flames rose from the fire below. The National Transportation Safety Board announced that a team would be dispatched to investigate the incident.

Carroll mentioned that the damaged segment of I-95 accommodates approximately 160,000 vehicles daily. State police are uncertain if the driver was speeding, and no other vehicle has been located. Officials confirmed communication with the trucking company but did not disclose its identity.

Carroll noted that the highway span was between 10 to 12 years old, appeared structurally sound, and attributed the damage to the heat generated by the fire, which took around an hour to contain.

Governor Josh Shapiro signed a disaster declaration on Monday, stating that it grants state agencies the authority to bypass standard bidding and contracting procedures to expedite the bridge’s repair.

Shapiro, during his aerial survey of the area, remarked on the “incredible devastation” he witnessed.

“I was grateful that no drivers on I-95 were harmed or killed,” he reiterated.

The intense heat from the fire or the force of an explosion may have weakened the steel beams supporting the overpass, according to Abi Aghayere, a structural engineering professor at Drexel University. Such bridges typically lack fire protection, such as a concrete casing, he added. While they might have been coated with fire-retardant paint, the beams could still have been compromised.

“It simply buys you time,” he explained.

Among the various transportation adjustments in the region, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority announced the operation of three additional morning and late afternoon trains on its Trenton, New Jersey line, along with increased capacity on regular lines during peak hours following the collapse.

The collapsed section of I-95 was part of a $212 million reconstruction project completed four years ago, according to Brad Rudolph, a spokesperson for the State Transportation Department. PennDOT had rated the 104-foot span as in “good” condition earlier in the year, with another inspection scheduled for 2025.

Shapiro, a member of the Democratic party, estimated that the complete reconstruction of I-95 would require “several months,” and in the interim, officials were exploring “temporary solutions to reconnect I-95 and facilitate traffic flow in the area.”

Joseph L. Schofer, a retired civil and environmental engineering professor from Northwestern University, highlighted a major challenge for PennDOT in swiftly replacing the bridge, which could involve obtaining heavy-duty steel beams measuring over a hundred feet.

Ensuring the precise length required—either through construction records or measurements—and locating a fabricator to produce them could be time-consuming, he noted.

“You can’t just order it online from Amazon and expect next-day delivery,” Schofer remarked, who also hosts an infrastructure podcast.

A similar incident occurred in California with a highway ramp in Oakland, which was replaced within 26 days, he mentioned.

“That’s almost like a miracle,” Schofer commented. In Atlanta, an elevated section of Interstate 85 collapsed in a fire, closing the heavily traveled route through the city center in March 2017. It took authorities there 43 days to complete the replacement, Schofer added.

In Pennsylvania, officials also expressed concerns about the environmental impact of runoff into the nearby Delaware River.

Following the observation of a sheen in the Delaware River near the collapse site, the Coast Guard deployed a boom to contain the substance. Ensign Josh Ledoux stated that the tanker had a capacity of 8,500 gallons, but there was no apparent spread of the contents into the environment.