Resilient Asphalt Roads: Asphalt Keeps Commerce Flowing in the Wake of Disaster
On June 11, 2023, a truck hauling roughly 8,500 gallons of gasoline caught fire beneath the I-95 overpass at Cottman Avenue. While the cause for the crash and the fire’s ignition are not entirely clear, what is certain is that extreme heat from the fire collapsed the support structures upholding the northbound lanes of the bridge. The southbound bridge was also severely damaged and would need to be removed. The response to the emergency, both locally and on a federal level, was lightning quick. Roughly 160,000 vehicles travel the corridor daily, and an estimated 40% of the US domestic GDP utilizes I-95. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, in 2021, trucks carried 21 million tons of freight worth $104 billion through the Philadelphia region, largely via I-95.
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