How to hack your commute during the I-95 bridge collapse repairs

With the collapse of a section of I-95, traffic concerns have heightened in Philadelphia. Luckily, according to experts, there is a light at the end of the tunnel — or, in this case, a bridge.

On Sunday, a bridge on I-95 in Northeast Philadelphia collapsed after a tanker truck carrying gasoline overturned and burst into flames underneath it, collapsing the northbound lane and heavily damaging the southbound lane. $10 million has already been made available by the state and federal government to cover the costs of reconstruction. There is no exact timeline for when the project will be completed, but it could take months, according to Gov. Josh Shapiro.

While Philly drivers adapt to new commuting routes, take mass transit, or work from home in the interim, here are some helpful tips to keep your cool and make driving a little easier around Philly as crews rebuild I-95.

Historically, major bridge collapses like the I-95 one in Philly disrupt the local region for at least a month, said Bob Pishue, transportation analyst for traffic solutions firm INRIX. A section of I-85 in Atlanta collapsed in 2017 and was rebuilt in about 40 days. In 2013, a bridge on I-5 in Washington collapsed and a temporary bridge was constructed in four weeks, with a newly rebuilt bridge completed a few months later.

“Atlanta had a similar collapse on obviously a major interstate and it took a month or two to rebuild — kind of like what they’re projecting [in Philadelphia],” said Pishue. “What we found is that over time people actually do adjust, like putting off doing certain trips and finding alternative routes. We expect some of that chaos to start subsiding over the next couple of weeks.”

This means while daily commutes will be longer, it’s only temporary and should be over soon. Millions of dollars in government funding is now available, and crews will be working 24/7 on reconstruction (which is streamed live).

Erick Guerra, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School of Design, said to have patience during the commute as well — if you know what to expect, traffic is easier to handle.

“Uncertainty is one of the things that people hate most,” Guerra said. “People really hate when they think their commute should take 30 minutes to get home on a Friday, but something happened and it took them an hour and a half — but no one complains when they know they’re taking an hour and a half trip and it takes an hour and a half.”

No matter which alternative to driving on I-95 you take, traffic experts said to research possible routes beforehand. Pishue encourages using navigation apps like Google Maps, Waze, or Apple Maps as they all provide near real-time data on travel times and traffic congestion.

PennDOT’s recommended detour route for travelers using I-95 suggests taking Roosevelt Boulevard, I-76, and I-676 to get around the collapsed bridge and continue taking I-95 north or southbound. The Inquirer has a full breakdown of I-95 detours, including local detours, here.

These map tools and guidance from officials on detours will help you find a route worth taking. However, these detoured routes are seeing increased traffic as well as they weren’t meant to handle the level of traffic that I-95 can, said Pishue. It’s important to frequently check traffic alerts because traffic can change daily.

“In some cases, there is very little traffic on the detour roads because the word has been spread on social media that it’s busy, so people avoid it thinking it’s going to be ‘Carmageddon,’ ” said Pishue. “But then once they see there isn’t a lot of traffic on those roads, they start coming back. People are adjusting day by day, and it’ll likely take a couple of weeks for people to fully adjust.”

Guerra supported this claim. “It’s actually often the case that when these things happen, traffic is not nearly as bad as people think it’s going to be.”

To Guerra, one of the simplest actions people can take is driving when fewer people are on the roads. In Philadelphia, peak travel times are 7 to 9 in the morning and 3 to 6 in the afternoon — with 4 p.m. being the worst time for driving, according to INRIX.

With I-95 in North Philly seeing 160,000 vehicles daily, detoured routes are now seeing more traffic too, leading some commuters to turn to public transportation. According to SEPTA, ridership on the Fox Chase, Trenton, and West Trenton train lines saw a 12% increase on Monday, and some trains had standing room only.

SEPTA added additional trains on the Trenton Line and added capacity to the Fox Chase and West Trenton Lines. Additionally, PPA is providing free parking at the Fern Rock, Fox Chase, and Torresdale train stations until further notice. However, according to Guerra, mass transit can’t solve all traffic woes as rail lines don’t service all of Philadelphia, and buses are going to be stuck in the same traffic as cars.

“To the extent that you can avoid congestion by taking mass transit, obviously that doesn’t work on city buses, but walking or biking is another approach,” said Guerra. “Taking the train is not always an option. I would rather be on a congested driving route for 45 minutes than on a transit trip that takes an hour and 45 minutes.”

There are also bikeshare services like Indego for shorter local trips. And if you don’t mind traffic but don’t want to be driving in it, rideshare apps are available. Experts suggest combining modes of transportation for a commute, like using a bike or rideshare service to get to a train station and then taking the train the rest of the way.

A relatively simple way to beat traffic is to cut it entirely out of the picture. With the rise of remote work during COVID-19 precautions, more workers have the ability to work from home.

“If you can work from home, work from home or work half the day from home,” said Guerra. “I think it’s probably a good moment to negotiate that if that’s possible — it’s obviously not possible for everyone.”

Pishue said a major piece of infrastructure being taken offline is a good reason to request remote work, especially with reports that some commuters are sitting in over an hour of traffic during their commute, which can lead to rising travel costs and lower productivity.

“What employers can do is they can encourage more telecommuting,” Pishue said. “But as you can see here, there’s a bunch of different groups involved: drivers, freight movers, government agencies, employers. Everybody kind of needs to pitch in.”