Pennsylvania Celebrates Grand Reopening of I-95

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Friday, May 24 marks the official reopening of one of the most important arteries on the East Coast. Less than one year after the partial collapse of I-95 over Cottman Avenue, the permanent replacement has officially reopened. On May 23, Benesch staff joined Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation Mike Carroll and members of the project team to celebrate the feat with a reopening event.

“A tremendous amount of teamwork went into restoring this bridge, both temporarily and permanently,” reflected Project Manager Joe Sirignano. “It is so rewarding to see the project team and community come together to celebrate and appreciate all of the effort that went into this project.”

After a temporary roadway was in place and open to six lanes of traffic—just 12 days after a fiery truck crash that led to the partial collapse—the Benesch Team focused on design work for the permanent bridge replacement. Critical staging limit decisions were made within hours of the collapse so the temporary roadway and permanent bridge replacement solutions could work together. Leveraging a design-build delivery method allowed the team to tailor the updated steel bridge design for efficient fabrication and construction.

Over the past year, the emergency efforts of the project team have been recognized repeatedly by industry organizations. Most recently, the project was honored at the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Engineering Excellence Awards with a National Recognition Award. Learn more about the project and its accolades here.