High Steel Structures’ role in repairing a destroyed Interstate 95 overpass in Philadelphia drew the attention of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who visited the AISC member fabricator’s shop outside of Lancaster, Pa., on August 7 to laud its work.
Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis toured the plant and signed their names on the first of 16 104-ft girders that will be part of the new I-95 overpass, replacing a bridge that collapsed June 11 when a tanker truck caught fire and exploded underneath it. The extreme heat from the explosion felled the northbound lanes and rendered the southbound ones structurally unsound.
“High Steel has made this project a top priority,” Shapiro said. “They’re expediting the I-95 girders so we can get the new overpass on I-95 done as soon as possible.”
Fabricating 16 girders of that size normally takes nine months, Shapiro explained. High Steel, though, informed him it plans to have all 16 completed in just two months, using steel from Cleveland-Cliffs’ Coatesville, Pa. mill.
“We like to solve challenges,” High Companies CEO Mike Shirk said. “The rapid replacement of the I-95 bridge is certainly another opportunity to do so.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has not yet released a timeline for the new bridge’s completion. The overpass–which crosses Cottman Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia–reopened 12 days after the collapse using a temporary roadway.
High Steel is working on multiple PennDOT projects. The company is also currently fabricating 3,500 tons of steel for the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s new Hawk Falls Bridge, a 720-ft skewback steel deck arch bridge that will carry I-476 over Mud Run in Carbon County, Pa. The bridge has a main 480-ft deck arch span and two 60-ft I-girder spans on each end. The project also includes a single-span steel girder bridge that crosses a nearby road.
Shapiro’s recently enacted state budget included increased funding for infrastructure upkeep–and he told High Steel’s workers to be ready for more PennDOT projects.
“You’re on notice,” Shapiro said. “We’re going to need more steel in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to build these roads and bridges.”
