Over the last six decades, Interstate 95 has been the backbone of travel and commerce through Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — carrying commuters, freight traffic, and regional travelers along the Delaware River corridor. However, the majority of the highway was built in the 1960s, and age, congestion, and outdated interchange designs have taken their toll.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has come up with a solution: its $268 million I-95 Revive project, considered one of the more ambitious urban highway reconstruction efforts in the U.S. in years. The idea is to rebuild the interstate piece by piece while keeping traffic moving.

One of the most challenging segments of this effort is Section BS2, stretching from the Betsy Ross Bridge interchange to Bridge Street in northeast Philadelphia. While the overall I-95 Revive program focuses on eliminating lane drops, modernizing interchanges, and extending the service life of the corridor, BS2 stands out for its intricate staging, complex bridge construction, and close interface with surrounding neighborhoods and industrial facilities.

Section BS2 is a part of Sector A, the southern portion of PennDOT’s long-term plan to fully reconstruct I-95 through northeast Philadelphia.

“PennDOT’s primary objectives for Section BS2 are to completely rebuild the aging interstate highway, including the replacement of all the bridges, to provide an additional 70 to 100 years of service life, reduce congestion by eliminating lane drops at the Bridge Street and Betsy Ross Bridge interchanges, and always to improve safety,” said Paul Shultes, PennDOT Consultant Project Manager.

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Those objectives mirror the larger program, with PennDOT looking to manage traffic more efficiently between the local street system and the interstate.

“These align with the broader goals of the I-95 Revive program, which are to completely reconstruct I-95 in northeast Philadelphia, reduce congestion by eliminating the lane drops at the interchanges, reduce crashes caused by the congestion at the lane drops, provide full-width shoulders throughout the corridor, and improve the interaction between the interstate and the communities it serves,” Shultes said.

A project like this called for experience, so PennDOT called on James J. Anderson Construction (JJA) for the job, as the Philadelphia-based contractor has a long history working along the I-95 corridor and has played a major role in PennDOT’s reconstruction program over the past three decades.

“Since the early 1990s, Anderson has positioned the construction company and related material supply companies to be a major player for the I-95 projects through Philadelphia,” a representative from JJA said, explaining the company’s first work on the corridor came as a subcontractor on early reconstruction sections, but the firm deliberately expanded its capabilities over time.

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“Since that time, Anderson has invested in GPS capable concrete placement and excavation equipment and undertook the hiring of well qualified and capable management people with structures and other expertise outside of our already established roadway, excavation, and drainage concentrations,” the representative said.

The goal was to create a vertically integrated operation capable of self-performing large portions of PennDOT’s most complex highway work.

Since 2009, JJA has undertaken six contracts on I-95 in Philadelphia County, including BS2, with an aggregate contract amount of over $1 billion. As of early 2026, the contractor has completed over $700 million of that total in the five sections at the Girard Interchange reconstruction.

Perhaps the biggest challenge of the BS2 project is PennDOT’s insistence to keep three travel lanes in each direction during peak periods, even as major bridges, ramps, and retaining walls were being rebuilt.

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“PennDOT and the project design team stipulated the three-travel lane during peak time configuration in the design stage and included this requirement in the project construction documents,” the JJA representative said, adding that general staging plans were built into the contract, but execution has required constant coordination and adjustment.

“During preconstruction planning and also during construction, we have requested and received approval from PennDOT and the design team to combine some of the early stages, and to slightly modify some of the subsequent mainline temporary alignments to work better with JJA’s means and methods,” the representative said.

That coordination was important not just for BS2, but the entire project. After all, with active construction immediately north and south of the project limits, traffic management needed to be synchronized across multiple contracts.

“With BS2’s proximity to BS1 immediately to the north and BR3 immediately to the south, we have and will continue to work with PennDOT, the BS2 design team, and those contractors to plan, coordinate, and integrate the different project traffic configurations together and maintain the best possible flow for the traveling public,” the representative said.

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PennDOT relies on a similar level of coordination as well.

“PennDOT has two construction management teams that coordinate the work zones and traffic pattern changes to make sure the three lanes in each direction can always be maintained,” said Dan Gleason, PennDOT Interstate Assistant Construction Engineer. “Real-time Intelligent Transportation Systems are used to monitor traffic flow and respond to incidents as quickly as possible.”

According to Gleason, one of the major components of BS2 is the replacement of the Bridge Street exits, with new southbound off-ramps and northbound on-ramps relocated to Delaware Avenue and Tacony Street. The reconfiguration is designed to improve safety and eliminate congestion caused by short merge and weave areas.

For JJA, constructing the new ramps has been one of the project’s most demanding elements.

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“The largest challenge with both ramps at this new location is constructing them in stages,” the JJA representative said. “To carry southbound traffic, the new off-ramp must pass under I-95. A new mainline bridge for this purpose is constructed in phases, replacing the existing roadway on fill. Additionally, to maintain 95 mainline traffic during construction, the staged new bridge construction requires significant excavation support along the centerline of I-95 to support traffic located only a few feet from the stage line.”

Plus, to accommodate the ramp geometry, the mainline bridge over the ramp is on a very significant skew, which required revisions to the concrete approach and roadway construction.

The northbound on-ramp presents its own challenges, including a steep vertical climb from Delaware Avenue to the interstate. This also requires two stages and multiple retaining wall systems, curved girders, and precise staging to complete the structure while traffic flows below.

“Another challenging aspect for this ramp is the extreme curvature of the superelevated bridge superstructure passing over Tacony Street,” the representative said. “The girders are significantly curved, and care needed to be undertaken in the planning, selection of crane locations, erection means and methods, and with the temporary bracing of the girders until all diaphragms were in place and bolted.”

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From PennDOT’s perspective, the ramp changes are part of a corridor-wide strategy.

“This was part of a bigger solution that involves both I-95 BR3 and I-95 BS2,” Gleason said. “We are looking to improve acceleration and deceleration on and off the corridor. We will not close this ramp until the other ramp is open or the on-ramp at Aramingo is completed first.”

Even with all of this nuance, the most distinctive structure in BS2 is the new southbound viaduct over Tacony Street and Bridge Street, a five-span curved steel girder bridge that replaces an older elevated section of I-95.

Though JJA had experience from constructing the 7,000-foot Richmond viaduct on adjacent projects, the Tacony viaduct introduced new challenges.

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“The Tacony viaduct did have some unique aspects not encountered previously,” the JJA representative said. “One was elevation. The new structure was approximately 4 feet higher in elevation as opposed to the existing I-95 structure it was replacing. That required careful planning to ensure temporary roadway profiles remained safe during staged construction.”

Still, the most technically complex feature lies in the pier caps.

“These two pier caps are designed as cross girders to span Tacony Street and are 10,000 psi [pounds per square inch of] concrete, post-tensioned cross girder units utilizing self-consolidating concrete,” the representative said. “The steel girders for the viaduct are cast directly into the concrete cross girders, maximizing clearance for traffic below.”

The construction on this called for massive temporary support systems, as installation of these two concrete cross girders required specific engineering and materials (nearly 14,000 pounds per lineal foot of cross girder), all while maintaining 15 feet of clearance on Tacony Street.

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The southbound cross girder was completed in fall 2024, with the northbound counterpart scheduled for spring 2027.

“PennDOT and the design engineers [CDM Smith] have been very good partners providing input to the development of the cross-girder construction planning to ensure successful construction,” the representative said.

The BS2 project is more than just bridges and pavement; it involves extensive utility relocation, often adjacent to homes and businesses. Those new utilities scheduled for BS2 had to be installed and ready for operation prior to the removal of the old utilities. Maintaining access for major employers along the corridor has also been critical.

“The newly constructed Delaware Avenue extension runs between Dietz and Watson and Honor Foods,” the JJA representative said. “Both facilities have heavy vehicle traffic entering and exiting on a daily basis. Access to each facility had to be maintained during the Delaware Avenue construction.”

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Another focus was on pedestrian safety, particularly along Tacony Street, a key route for students attending nearby schools. To accommodate, the isolation of pedestrian traffic was built into the staging plans to separate foot traffic from heavy construction activity.

Safety was a central concern on the project for all aspects, and PennDOT has worked with the community to ensure a smooth project.

“We have held many community meetings during the design process and before the start of construction on this project,” Gleason said. “We continually communicate with the city, local officials, community groups, major stakeholders, other transportation agencies, businesses, and residences along the corridor. We disseminate project information through the media, social media platforms, and the 95revive.com website. Traditional flyers and mailers are also used to reach the community more directly.”

Community mitigation has included creative solutions, such as temporary off-site parking for James Street residents during construction and the use of micropiles instead of traditional piles to reduce vibration near homes.

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“This change not only added cost to the project but also added significant time to the construction,” the representative said. “What’s more, the risk of vibration damage to the adjacent properties was greatly reduced.”

As BS2 progresses toward its anticipated 2028 completion, PennDOT acknowledges that challenges remain.

“Due to the redesign of the Gravix walls, this project is currently behind schedule, but we intend to make up as much lost time as possible by accelerating work when possible,” Gleason said.

While much work is still ahead, the effort underway on BS2 is already shaping the future of the I-95 Revive program and setting the stage for a safer, more efficient interstate through northeast Philadelphia for generations to come.

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• Owner: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
• General Contractor: James J. Anderson Construction, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Design Engineer: CDM Smith, Boston, Massachusetts
• Construction Management/Consulting Firms: Pennoni Associates Incorporated, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; SP Engineering Inc., Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania; Traffic Planning and Design Inc., Pottstown, Pennsylvania; Urban Engineers Inc., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Subcontractors: Superior Materials Inc., Access Limited Construction Co. Inc., Apex Services Inc., Atlas Flasher & Supply Co. Inc., ATG Trucking LLC, Beeghly Tree LLC, Billyboy Contracting LLC, BL Companies Pennsylvania Inc., Carr and Duff LLC, Castles Enterprises LLC, Chesco Coring & Cutting Inc., Clearwater Construction Inc., Concrete Cutting Systems Inc., Copperhead Custom Inc., CJGeo Inc., Eichelbergers Inc., Four Seasons Wholesale Inc., General Sewer Service Inc. t/a General Pipe Cleaning, Gracie Painting LLC, Green Valley Landscaping Inc., Ground Penetrating Radar Systems Inc., Harris Blacktopping Inc., High Steel Structures LLC, Ivyland Construction Co. Inc., J & R of Delaware Inc., Jobsite Products Inc., Joseph B. Fay Co., JPC Group Inc., Kayser LLC, Kuharchik Construction Inc., L B Construction Enterprises Inc., M.L. Ruberton Construction Co. Inc., Mattiola Services LLC, Mossi Construction Inc., Norton Tow Squad Inc., P-III Contractors Inc., Pavilion Drainage Supply Co. Inc., Pelco Builders Inc., Pitt Industrial Diamond Products Inc., Premium Excavating LLC, Roma Concrete Inc., Rubrics Cube Paving Inc., S B&K Enterprises Inc., Structural Services Inc., Structural Technologies LLC, Structured Cable Solutions Inc., Superior Scaffold Services Inc., Swank Construction Company LLC, SJA Construction Inc., The Pietrini Corporation t/a B. Pietrini & Sons, TRC Engineers Inc., V.H. Motto Contracting Inc., Witman Engineers & Consultants LLC, Zavorski Masonry Restoration Inc., Zone Striping Inc., 22 Group LLC, 3C Drilling LLC
Photos courtesy of PennDOT