I-95 Philadelphia: Large truck fire causes roadway collapse near Cottman Avenue exit

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A portion of Interstate 95 in Northeast Philadelphia collapsed Sunday morning after a large vehicle fire. The fire started under the overpass near the Cottman Avenue exit around 6:30 a.m., police said.

A commercial truck carrying a petroleum-based product was the source of the fire and brought down an entire portion of the northbound lanes, Gov. Josh Shapiro said. The southbound side of the interstate was also compromised due to the blaze.

Flames could be seen shooting up from the roadway Sunday morning. Thick black smoke filled the sky and traffic was stopped in that area.

Residents in the area of the collapse can follow updates from PennDOT on their website.

Mayor Jim Kenney said there are no known fatalities or injuries due to the fire and collapse, but Shapiro added they're still working to identify if anyone may have been caught in the fire or collapse.

What part of I-95 is closed?

A two-mile radius of I-95 is closed in both directions from Allegheny and Castor Avenue (Exit 25) to Academy Road and Linden Avenue (Exit 32). The fuel tanker caught fire on Princeton Avenue near the I-95 Cottman Avenue off-ramp.

This area of I-95, according to federal transportation records, carries 160,000 vehicles a day on average, and is a main arterial roadway in the U.S. that goes north and south along the east coast, Michael Carroll, the Deputy Managing Director for Transportation in Philly, said.

Vehicle fire on I-95 northbound between Exit 30 - Cottman Ave/Rhawn St and Exit 32 - Academy Rd/Linden Ave. All lanes closed. — 511PA Philadelphia (@511PAPhilly) June 11, 2023

Tumar Alexander from the City of Philadelphia Managing Director's Office said it will be a long time to address this roadway collapse.

Detour Options/ How to get around I-95 closure

Drivers are being asked to avoid the area. Those who were on the interstate were forced to turn around.

CBS News Traffic Reporter Chandler Lutz said this is going to cause major traffic issues for the foreseeable future.

Lutz said Exit 27 was closed off, which is the Bridge St/ Harbison Ave exit, as part of the I-95 reconstruction project.

Roosevelt Boulevard (Route 1) is your best bet to get around the road closure, Lutz said. Torresdale Avenue is also an alternate route.

If you're heading into New Jersey, you can use the New Jersey Turnpike, Route 130 or I-295. The Ben Franklin Bridge is back open after it was temporarily shut down Sunday morning due to a bike-a-thon event. If you're traveling northbound on I-95, you can still use the Betsy Ross Bridge exit (Exit 26). However, if you're traveling from the Besty Ross to I-95, that area is blocked off.

Those who planned to travel on I-95 south should consider the Delaware Memorial Bridge into New Jersey.

Kenney said residents can also expect delays to SEPTA bus routes in the area.

Several explosions were also heard in the area, sending manhole tops "flipping like coins" into the air, CBS News Philadlephia's Madeline Wright said.

Environmentally, its tough to contain some of these volatile chemicals and flammable toxins when there is a fire still burning in that area, CBS New Philadelphia's Joe Holden added. Several sewer systems and a water treatment center are in the area, and if the burning taker ruptured, it could leak into the Delaware River.

Manhole covers are being blown into the air in the aftermath of the tanker truck fire underneath I-95 S. You can hear two explosions in this video. I-95 N. and S. are shut down between Academy and Bridge. pic.twitter.com/4gqdw46sM4 — Madeleine Wright (@MWrightReports) June 11, 2023

But, Philadelphia's drinking water has not been impacted due to the collapse and fire after gasoline leaked. Shapiro said some of the spill made it into the entry of the waterway, but "there's no threat to anyone's drinking water and no threat to the water." He said it was contained by booms that were put up.

"Currently at this time we have no concerns of any environmental impact to our water intakes at the Baxter water treatment plant," Brendan Riley, the director of water operations at the Philadelphia Water Department, said. "There was a lot of coordination with the Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Coast Guard as well as PennDOT to make sure we responded appropriately."

Winds are blowing off to the north, which will carry the smoke toward the north and east.

The fire is adding dangerous chemicals -- such as acids, sulfates and nitrates -- into the air, which are very dangerous to breathe in. Particulate matter, such as metals, soot, dust, tar and oil, are also posing air quality concerns.

Meteorologist Tammie Souza said you may notice a greasy, oily film on things from the huge smoke plume.

She said that if you're to the north or east, it is recommended to stay indoors, as the region was also expected to already have unhealthy air quality levels Sunday due to smoke from the Canadian wildfire that we have been experiencing all week.

As of 7:30 a.m., officials said the fire was out but it appears some spots are flaring back up.

Sources said the tons of rubble and burning fire are hampering their efforts to make a positive determination, per a conference call with key stakeholders.

Crews are working to assess the damage left behind.

Injuries are unknown at this time, fire officials said in a press conference, as they have not been able to get close enough to the source of the fire to assess if anyone was in the vehicle when it started. However, officials also said there are no concerns for neighbors and no other drivers were injured.

In 1996, there was an eerily similar incident near Bridge Street when an arsonist started a massive tire fire that closed the highway for weeks and caused a transportation nightmare in the Philadelphia area.

The Philadelphia Streets Department said residents in the Northeast should "expect delays" in trash and recycling collections.

Residents in the area should continue to set their materials out as usual on their regular trash day, but the Streets Department is assessing the impact on sanitation trucks traveling in the area of the collapse to see if drivers will have to use alternate routes.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said he was briefed on the incident and is coordinating with partners in Philadelphia, New Jersey, as well as the federal government.

Shapiro said the full rebuild of I-95 will take "some number of months."

"We expect it to take that time, and we will have that specific timeline set forth once the engineers and PennDOT have completed their review," Shapiro said.

Shapiro said he plans to issue a disaster declaration to expedite the process and use federal funds to rebuild the interstate.

Shapiro spoke directly with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Senator Bob Casey Congressman Brendan Boyle and other federal officials.

"All of our federal partners have pledged a complete and total support and assistance as we create alternate routes and as we rebuild I-95," Shapiro said. "Secretary Buttigieg has assured me that there will be absolutely no delay in getting federal funds deployed to quickly help us rebuild this critical artery."

Shapiro said his chief of staff has also been in communication with White House officials.

Closely monitoring the fire and collapse on I-95 in Pennsylvania. I‘ve been in touch with FHWA and spoke with Gov. Shapiro to offer any assistance that USDOT can provide to help with recovery and reconstruction. — Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) June 11, 2023

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kennedy said he is grateful for the city's first responders in helping keep everyone safe.

I will always be grateful to our first responders for the dangerous, life-saving work they do to keep residents and visitors safe.

Thank you to @PhillyFireDept, @PhillyPolice, @PhilaOEM, and partners for your continued response to this incident. — Mayor Jim Kenney (@PhillyMayor) June 11, 2023

The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team to conduct a safety investigation on the tanker fire and collapse. The agency said it's working with the Pennsylvania State Police.

The NTSB, in coordination with the Pennsylvania State Police, is sending a team to conduct a safety investigation into the gasoline tanker truck fire and the collapse of the I-95 N overpass in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this morning. — NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) June 11, 2023

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.