Part of Interstate 95 in northeast Philadelphia was shut down in each instructions early on Sunday morning after a tanker truck believed to be carrying gasoline caught hearth, inflicting a part of the freeway to break down, officers mentioned.

The collapse left the authorities scrambling for tactics to ease the commute on Monday morning in addition to for weeks to return and assessing what choices they needed to make up for the lack of this part of busy freeway, which carries about 160,000 automobiles every day.

A tanker driver was on an offramp of Route I-95 North when a crash or different incident sparked a fireplace beneath the freeway lanes, which run overhead, mentioned Brad Rudolph, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

“That structure quickly collapsed with the heat of the fire as big as it was,” he mentioned. “And then the southbound structure was also shut down because it was compromised by the fire as well.”

At a news convention on Sunday afternoon, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania mentioned that not less than one car remained trapped beneath the collapsed roadway and that officers have been nonetheless working to establish “any individual or individuals” who might have been caught within the hearth and the collapse, which occurred round 6:20 a.m.

He described the scene on the freeway as one in all “remarkable devastation,” including, “I found myself, you know, thanking the Lord that no motorists who were on I-95 were injured or died.”

The northbound portion of I-95 had fully collapsed, and the southbound aspect was not structurally sound, Mr. Shapiro mentioned, noting that it might seemingly take “some number of months” earlier than the freeway was repaired.

Mr. Shapiro mentioned he would challenge a catastrophe declaration on Monday to expedite that course of, and had been assured by the federal transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, that no matter assets have been wanted can be supplied.

Mr. Rudolph, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman, mentioned that the reason for the hearth was nonetheless being investigated however that nothing up to now recommended it was intentional.

He mentioned the hearth was on the ramp from Route I-95 North to Cottman Avenue, which juts out after which goes beneath the freeway.

“It seems like it was a vehicle accident,” Mr. Rudolph mentioned. “That ramp can be tricky if you’re going at a high rate of speed.”

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Twitter that it was sending a crew to conduct a “safety investigation” into the incident.

Dominick Mireles, the director of the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, mentioned at an earlier news convention that the company was involved concerning the attainable “environmental impacts” the hearth and collapse might have on the Delaware River, which runs parallel to the broken part of the freeway.

The Philadelphia Water Department, which pulls on the Delaware for a few of its provide, mentioned there was “no impact to water quality” on Sunday afternoon.

“Philadelphia Water Department staff are continuing to monitor the situation and working with other agencies in the emergency response,” it mentioned.

The space the place the hearth occurred contains auto outlets, development corporations and Four Seasons Total Landscaping, the family-operated enterprise the place Rudolph W. Giuliani, then former President Donald Trump’s private lawyer, held a news conference in 2020 as main news organizations started to name the election for President Biden.

All lanes of Route I-95 between the Woodhaven and Aramingo exits, and a few close by streets, have been closed on Sunday afternoon, the town of Philadelphia mentioned in a news release.

The metropolis suggested commuters to plan alternate routes for his or her weekday commutes and inspired them to make use of public transportation. State and native companies have been creating detours, together with on Pennsylvania Route 63, Interstate 676 and U.S. Route 1, the town mentioned.

At the news convention on Sunday afternoon, Leslie Richards, the overall supervisor of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, mentioned that vehicles can be added to scheduled trains and that free parking can be made obtainable at three stations.

“This is an emergency that has created a tremendous challenge for our transportation network,” Ms. Richards mentioned. “We are all going to need some extra patience in the coming days.”

The restore of equally broken roadways took a number of weeks, mentioned Thomas Gernay, an assistant professor of engineering at Johns Hopkins University, including that even elements of the overpass that appeared intact might be broken.

While buildings are protected against hearth utilizing sprinkler techniques and different means, out of doors highways should not, he added.

“We are in an unlucky situation where the fire occurs just underneath a structure,” he mentioned.

In April, a part of Interstate 95 in Connecticut was shut down after a gasoline tanker crash on a significant bridge. The explosion killed one particular person and despatched residence heating oil into the Thames River, officers mentioned.

In 2017, part of Interstate 85 in Atlanta collapsed due to a fireplace. The contractor that changed the broken roadway, C.W. Matthews, mentioned it took 44 days of uninterrupted work to complete the repairs.

Livia Albeck-Ripka contributed reporting.