Major Interstate Collapses in Philadelphia After Tanker Truck Bursts Into Flames

Firefighters stand near the collapsed part of I-95 in Philadelphia on June 11, 2023. (Philadelphia Fire Department via AP)

A northbound section of Interstate 95 in northeast Philadelphia collapsed on June 11 after a tanker truck burst into flames beneath an elevated section of the highway, according to officials.

“Today’s going to be a long day. Obviously, with [I-95] northbound gone and southbound questionable, it’s going to be even longer,” Dominick Mireles of the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, told local media outlets.

“Heavy construction equipment [is] going to be required to come in to search and remove that debris.”

City Managing Director Tumar Alexander said, “I-95 will be impacted for a long time, for a long time.”

Derek Bowmer, battalion chief for the Philadelphia Fire Department, told CNN that a portion of the northbound side of I-95, the main north-south highway along the East Coast, collapsed.

“We did have a collapse of 95 on the northbound side, and the southbound side is compromised by heavy fire,” he said. “It looked like we had a lot of heat and heavy fire underneath.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro urged all residents to avoid I-95 in the area as officials attempt to respond to the collapsed section. Real-time traffic data early on June 11 showed the highway was shut down in both directions.

The city’s emergency management office wrote that all lanes were “shut down in both directions” in the vicinity of the fire.

Local media reported that the fire broke out on Cottman Avenue, which runs beneath the elevated section of the interstate, at around 6 a.m. local time. It isn’t clear what was inside the tanker truck or why it caught fire.

It isn’t known if there were any injuries.

President Joe Biden was briefed on the collapse, and the White House has offered assistance to state and local officials, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the closure of I-95 will have “significant impacts” on the region and the city of Philadelphia. Buttigieg said on Twitter that he was coordinating with regional leaders for recovery and rebuilding efforts.

This stretch of the I-95 corridor sits in the dense northeast section of Philadelphia and connects the city to its northern suburbs, like Bucks County.

On a Sunday in the summer, it is routinely used by beachgoers coming home from the Jersey Shore. During the week, it is crowded with commuters and vehicles traveling to Boston, Baltimore, and Washington.

Philadelphia Fire Battalion Chief Derek Bowmer told reporters that crews will be at work for “a while” on trying to determine if fuel or gas lines might have been compromised by the accident.

Reuters contributed to this report.