``Traffic should flow much more smoothly because we will not have the cattle chute,'' said Andrew L. Warren, district administrator for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
Even better, he said, I-95 will return earlier than expected to its full glory - three lanes each way to carry 80,000 cars per day. By July 3, workers will finish installing a new median, which will allow them to open the northbound and southbound left lanes.
Warren thanked for the speedy repairs everyone from suppliers who put their assembly lines on hold to deliver repair parts to union workers who took long shifts on short notice.
The accident took place May 23, when a tanker truck owned by the Samuel Coraluzzo Co. veered into the median and burst into flames, killing driver Keith Thomas, 43, and another motorist, Michael Mazzola, 30. Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the crash. The fire scorched the roadway and weakened the steel beams of the bridge that takes I-95 over Chester Creek.
At first, PennDot officials said they wanted to finish repairs in time for the July 4 weekend. Then they pronounced that date too optimistic. It turned out not to be.
Hours after the accident, Gov. Ridge called in from Israel to declare the situation an emergency. That allowed PennDot to choose an emergency contractor, Buckley & Co. of Philadelphia, without soliciting bids. Company owner Robert Buckley was able to reach other contractors and suppliers at home on Memorial Day weekend to start lining up materials. The Federal Highway Administration immediately pledged up to $5 million.
The good luck continued, Warren and Buckley said yesterday as they stood - grinning - on the rough new roadway, watching workers fill in holes left by a temporary concrete median that is to be removed.
``I can't say enough about the steel people,'' said Buckley. Bethlehem Steel Corp. forged the steel in Bethlehem, Pa.; High Steel Structures of Lancaster fashioned nine steel beams to replace the damaged ones. They were done in 10 days, a week ahead of schedule.
Workers labored 12 hours a day, six or seven days a week, Buckley said. Concrete suppliers had to show up at 2 a.m. June 16 to siphon truckloads of concrete onto the steel structure, Buckley said.
And, Warren said, ``Mother Nature had a hand in it.'' Dry weather allowed the concrete to harden faster than PennDot had dared to hope.
Warren said the project would cost less than the estimated $4 million.
Buckley's firm - which built the bridge in 1965 - also rebuilt the stretch of I-95 damaged in the 1996 Philadelphia tire fire. Although he was sorry to be torn away from prior commitments, he said, this was more important. He added that while his firm will be ready for the next disaster, ``we're not looking forward to it.''
