I-95 Reopening At Noon Friday: Officials

PHILADELPHIA — The closed portion of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia is reopening Friday, according to state officials.

Gov. Josh Shapiro's office Thursday evening said the new, temporary highway will open at noon Friday.

The six lanes of traffic, three each on the northbound and southbound lanes, are opening "thanks to the crews that have worked around the clock," a news release issued Thursday said.

Shapiro will be joined by Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, Philadelphia Building Trades members and contractors for an official announcement Friday morning at the site.

>>>RELATED: Watch I-95 Repair In Real Time<<<

Shapiro Tuesday said the highway would open sometime this weekend, but did not specify which day.

Just a few days before that, the governor said the temporary fix would take about two weeks.

But the lightweight backfill material provided by Delaware County-based Aero Aggregates of North America was installed more quickly than anticipated.

That led to paving of the six lanes beginning Wednesday and lasting into Thursday.

Signage installation work continued through the day Thursday, Carroll said.

It's unclear exactly what more work needs to be done before noon Friday, but line painting is one final touch needed before traffic resumes.

Carroll said the temporary stretch will be 45 miles per hour and urged drivers to remain patient as they approach merging lanes.

The new lanes will be 11 feet wide with no shoulder, he said.

About 160,000 vehicles travel daily on the impacted portion of highway.

The road was forced to close after a tractor trailer hauling thousands of gallons of gasoline crashed on the Route 73/Cottman Avenue ramp under the highway, igniting a massive fire, the morning of Sunday, June 11.

The truck's driver, Nathaniel Moody, 51, of New Jersey, died in the crash.

>>>RELATED: Truck Driver Killed In I-95 Crash Remembered As 'Devoted Family Man'<<<

Intense heat from the fire caused the bridge on northbound Interstate 95 to collapse and damaged the integrity of the southbound lanes so badly that demolition was necessary.

While traffic resumes on the temporary highway, state, local, and federal officials are working to get the permanent highway reconstruction plans in place.