But HOW can I-95 re-open... in under TWO WEEKS?

[@thamiordragonheart8682]

As a materials engineer, I have two contentions. one, steel is stronger than concrete in both tension and compression, you just avoid using any more steel than absolutely necessary because it's a lot more expensive than concrete. And Two, normal concrete actually does weaken under high temperatures.

[@RoadGuyRob]

That's cool to learn. I'm growing worried that "rushing" a shorter video out over 36 hours (versus like a month) may mean... I have some factual oopsies. 😲

[@KLondike5]

@@RoadGuyRob Doesn't matter how knowledgeable you are. There's always more thorough or updated details that somebody else can or will add. I learn a lot from comments.

[@justins8802]

@@RoadGuyRob As a knowledgeable non-structural engineer, I knew what you meant, that a bar of steel of practical thickness is poor in compression. I think most people intuitively know that a solid block of steel isn’t going to buckle. But yes, a reminder never hurts that anything can be strong, but strong and cheap is the goal.

[@HavokTheorem]

Yeah in this case it's buckling, right? You can't upset a length of rebar into a shorter billet because it will always take less energy to fold over.

[@ErdTirdMans]

@@RoadGuyRob Pin this comment to own the oopsie!

[@minimalistic_banhaus]

The fact Road Guy Rob can casually bend rebar with his hands should have us concerned.

[@benwagner5089]

Meanwhile, Sherlock Holmes can casually unbend it back to near-normal. Done in both books and TV.

[@cujoedaman]

Invisible rebar at that. I didn't know he has access to such materials.

[@Joedirt3349]

CIA rebar prototype

[@chickenswallow]

Imagine what he could do if he used 100% of his power 😮

[@cddagr]

If he uses 100% of his power, he’d have that bridge done in a day. 😂😂

[@alejandrolopez2577]

He's so good at keeping us immersed in his content that he filmed this while sitting in the middle of a road.

[@SupremeInvigilator]

"CAR!"

[@geoffmerritt]

Must have been the I-95...

[@dhillaz]

He is avenging the chicken suit

[@alanCalhoun2]

I-95 Road Workers = 5 watchers and 1 migrant worker

[@ErdTirdMans]

@@alanCalhoun2 For the first time ever, that's NOT happening. I'm guessing the extreme profile of it combined with the 24/7 cameras have gotten the fellas to work for the first time in their lives

[@JohnnieHougaardNielsen]

Part of the story is that the destroyed bridge had big steel I-beams at the bottom, and deck on top, meaning not much to protect the steel beams from the heat very quickly softening up the tensile strength of the steel.

[@alanCalhoun2]

Everyone knows they rebuild the road 50 times and used cheaper materials everytime. But the original base built 50 years ago was good construction.

[@JasperJanssen]

So it wasn’t a reinforced concrete bridge, it was a steel bridge with a concrete deck on top?

[@nimrodbegg123]

And concrete would have helped? Concrete under high temp spalls apart, nothing reasonable would have survived the temps the bridge experienced

[@Leebetter]

@@nimrodbegg123 I agree. Steel reinforced concrete girders may not have failed the way steel did in this case, but the damage would still be severe enough to warrant closure of the entire bridge for inspection. Concrete girders are known to have greater longevity.

[@scottdotjazzman]

So much for [jet] fuel not melting steel beams...

[@phlydude]

2 things - that sandwich is not a cheesesteak (a real cheesesteak is served on a long (hoagie) roll and would never be on toast and arguably would be shaved steak, cheese [American, Provolone, or Cheez Whiz], and fried onions - peppers are allowed if they are pickled but should not be sautéed green/red bell peppers) and secondly, the northbound lanes were the ones that collapsed not the southbound - the southbound were demolished because of the heat damage and deflection but stayed up during the fire

[@biglos9d]

Wit' wiz, yo

[@oscarwinner2034]

This. Nobody here calls them "Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich" either. They're just a 'cheesesteak'.

[@RetroMan4321]

Very well put @Dennis. There are strict cheesesteak ordering protocols to observe as well @RoadGuyRob.

[@Rompler_Rocco]

The paper is wrong, even. It should be huge, with one end soaked through with grease 👍

[@JasonWardStudios]

Indeed! That's just a roast beef sandwich on toast with roasted peppers and some cheese.

[@smokeymchaggis73]

RIP Nathaniel Moody. (He was the truck driver. He unfortunately passed away in this accident)

[@oscarwinner2034]

Nobody is forgetting him. Traffic unit and the other designers are looking at ways to help prevent accidents like that from happening again. We hope to have a time where nobody is killed in traffic accidents.

[@truckercowboyed2638]

​@@oscarwinner2034only way that happens is start educating people how to drive respectfully and not being idiots would help too...

[@avalean]

I'd love more Rob Minis like this.

[@muenstercheese]

me too!

[@TooBiggoBritches]

yes this was fantastic. excellent analogies, presentation, storytelling, narrating - dude, I love every video you make, make em all!

[@SouthUrban36]

That was the best video I saw on the whole project. Makes me optimistic about PennDOT and the work they are doing there. Thanks for explaining the cause, the strengths and weaknesses of modern highway bridges, the temporary fix, and the plans for a complete fix all in one 5 minute short.

[@Josh_Fredman]

Fast and simple! Sounds like something that a crazy old country granddad would come up with on his rocking chair on the porch. "If the bridge is so dang important, why don't they just fill the gap up and pave it over, one-two lickety split!" * laughs in old coot *

[@RoadGuyRob]

Sometimes the cleverest solutions are the simple ones.

[@Xuepreme69]

why did i read this in a southern accent lmao

[@UnnDunn]

Read this in Hank Hill's voice, I'll tell you hwhat!

[@bsteven885]

​@@Xuepreme69, I was thinking grandpa Simpson's voice in a southern accent. 😂

[@PhillyMJS]

They just announced they're going to have I-95 reopened this coming weekend. It's been amazing to watch the livestream and see the rapid progress.

[@PhillyMJS]

And good lord no, that was not an authentic cheesesteak, not even close. An authentic cheesesteak goes on a long roll, the onions should be chopped much smaller (like pinky nail sized), and green peppers have NO business being anywhere near it. If you do come to Philly to do a follow-up video on the I-95 overpass reconstruction, Steve's Prince of Steaks is about 5-10 minutes away.

[@MaltaMcMurchy]

Thank you for explaining how a speedy rebuild is possible! 🌟

[@PhilLesh69]

If they absolutely needed to, they could have filled the gap in a matter of hours and created a minimally passable temporary roadwsy, but it would definitely not be capable of handling highway speed heavy traffic. It would merely be a gravel pathway between two highway sections.

[@rupe53]

@@PhilLesh69 .... they actually did "fill it in" over a matter of hours. (like 100 hours) Bringing things to grade level will take another day or two... and paving can probably be done in a day, which will ALMOST make things normal, compared to a gravel roadway. Remember that flying gravel and changing road speeds are part of the safety consideration.

[@oscarwinner2034]

@@PhilLesh69 There are two PWD sewer lines that run under the ramp that necessitated the use of lightweight fill. Normal stone would have crushed the sewer lines under the ramp.

[@brownro214]

I haven't heard any reports of how long the "rebuild" will take. This temporary bypass is not a rebuild.

[@donsisco852]

Would it be possible to build a replacement bridge(s) in an area close to the broken bridge? When completed close for a weekend, prep the area and lift the bridge(s) into place? I remember the state of Utah did this a few years ago. Did Rob do a video on this?

[@NeatNit]

I came here from Practical Engineering's recent video (released only on Nebula as of this writing), this was such a great short and sweet video. Thanks!

[@davidtraubel116]

Nice explanation. About halfway through, he did mix up which side collapsed (it was Northbound) and which side remained standing (Southbound), but had to be removed after the heat damage. But overall, a very good demonstration.

[@PasleyAviationPhotography]

The US60 that runs through Mesa AZ had a bit of water pool up under a overpass. It took them WAAAY longer than two weeks to fix, so this is pretty remarkable.

[@macsound]

I guess AZ is really not used to water, so it's was a tough fix! haha

[@williamnoll7935]

They had to repair the pipe

[@s0nnyburnett]

Without I95 the whole east coast basically stops working, but even 2 weeks is slow.

[@williamnoll7935]

@@s0nnyburnett well nobody's starving, so can't be that important

[@emeraed]

🎵"Superstition ain't the way."

[@stevepaulus5527]

The one in Georgia was caused by a homeless person setting stuff GDOT had stored there on fire. It made them rethink how they stored stuff. It was a huge mess.

[@cisium1184]

And for a lot longer than two (2) weeks, too. I don't remember just how long that stretch of I-85 was closed, but even if it was nominally "open" quickly, it was an area you wanted to stay away from for a couple months IIRC.

[@stevepaulus5527]

@@cisium1184 you are right. It was a mess. It was several months.

[@wildfyr89]

45 days, but the full on rebuilt the overpass in that time.

[@thomaslgrice]

@@stevepaulus5527 43 days. March 30 to May 12. I was taking a building construction technology course at GaTech at the time. Our professor flew a drone over the site and provided data to us so we could create a point cloud animation. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnixiqd6opt5hdU

[@stevepaulus5527]

@@thomaslgrice as I said wasn't sure how long but was a traffic nightmare,but than again that's ATL traffic all the time. I lived in Canton just north of Atlanta at the time.

[@gobosMommy]

i like that you felt the need to carry the dirt back to the dirt instead of just brushing it off right where you already were

[@courtneysylvester7089]

Thanks for this. Very informative. I appreciate your putting this together in such a short space of time for all of us.

[@scootergem]

..and with visual aids - a diarama even!

[@anonymous-ir3tf]

Wow, what an awesome video and explanation! You put a lot of work into it. Just a note: It was the NB lanes that initially collapsed, and the SB lanes that were weakened and had to be demolished. That used to be my exit...LOL.

[@Mike__B]

This incident reminded me of that 580 collapse that happened in 2007, I remember seeing that on the news and going "oh this isn't going to end well" and was also happy I didn't work on that side of the bay anymore. That said, their fix was to get an underbid by a contractor who had bonuses for days completed ahead of schedule and has experience at get things done quickly, and in less than a month from collapse the whole thing was replaced. But there was quite a bit more disruption as a result due to all the inter connected freeways in the area.

[@db-zc9xv]

Great job of explaining the process Rob !!! Not one word out of place. - From a retired surveyor/gradesetter/Operating Engineer/General Engineering Contractor.

[@jakegardner8667]

When I saw the footage, I assumed it'd be months. Thanks for the explaination!

[@kedwards4377]

Cool video. This is similar to the emergency repairs made to the Sanibel Causeway in Florida after Hurricane Ian last year. They also used temporary retaining walls to get the causeway reopened in 2 weeks while permanent repairs are underway.

[@1realtruthrightnow742]

Yes but Sanibel has NO WHERE NEAR the amount of traffic and daily tonnage that I-95 has on the daily. I really doubt this band aid is going to work. An now Far Ne Philly and Bensalem are going to have traffic issues because the cottman exit will still be closed down

[@oscarwinner2034]

@@1realtruthrightnow742 Bridge Street exit being closed 2 months ago makes this closure bad. The plan is to get the ramp open as soon as the traffic is switched to the outer bridges. The work on the center section will occur with traffic using the exit below. Beams should be here in a month. Add some time to erect them, build the new decks and parapets and to tie the deck into the roadway. Maybe this fall if all goes well.

[@1realtruthrightnow742]

@@oscarwinner2034 I suspect we will be talking about this for another 2-3 years. This is Philly & Penndot in charge of this operation, the worst combo to be in charge of anything.

[@APettyJ]

​@@1realtruthrightnow742I live at the recently closed Aramingo exit, the next one south of Cottman. There won't be traffic issues relating to closure of Cottman.

[@oscarwinner2034]

@@1realtruthrightnow742 Ironically PENNDOT is who got this repair going quick. By the time the FHWA and other Federal Agencies came around we were already moving on the plan we came up with days earlier.

[@karatransitfur]

I wish that other transportation options (like Amtrak!) were being looked at too - especially for the interim while 95 is under construction Great video explaining the whole thing!

[@30215PAPE]

Amtrak does go through Philly and we have SEPTA wich can get you too or close to anywhere in and around a idk 20 miles radius from center city even into Delaware except but if ya Wana go jersey but they have trains that go from CC over bridge threw Camden County Cdennis basically East Philly because Philly doesn't have a east side of the city

[@30215PAPE]

But trains ain't answer for north eastern commercial shipping think they used more for regional shipping

[@ColrathD]

@@30215PAPE trains don't even do regional shipping that much either. Train companies basically abanonded that principle and pushed that to trucks. Trains really just do interstate shipping with very long, long trains, where product can take weeks to be moved and it's not a big deal. Trains can't do regional shipping because that's too expensive for train companies to continue to invest it. It's not that it can't be profitable. The issue is, it's not profitable fast enough. It's a very short sighted issue. We wouldn't have the issue with drivers being over worked, taking turns too sharp, and crashing under bridges if we didn't move SO MUCH stuff through trucks. If we use less fossil fuels, there would be less need for moving so much and so quickly. Some gas stations are so busy that they need to be refilled multiple times a week, or even once a day, which means transporting all that hazardous material. In all risk calculations, we accept that this situations isn't an accident. It's inevitable. We know for a fact that transporting hazardous material on public road infrastructure is a risk; we accept that. We know that drivers are overwork and underpaid and that creates risks; we accept that. Road engineers don't even care how much cars weigh anymore because of how little impact residential vehicles have on bridges. All the consideration of the weight that these bridges have to support is because of the weight of commercial trucks carrying so much weight. This bridge could be slapped together in a few weeks with some wireframe steel trusses, filled in with a little dirty, asphalt, and a some paint and it would handle 100% of residential traffic. Because our road system subsidizes transportation for commercial transportation, the roads have to be engineered to insane standards, and it's so much more expensive and it takes so much more time. It's totally possible to move a lot more freight and people on to trains for literally fractions of the cost to build and maintain interstate highways. But that would require the government to invest in not-vehicle centric infrastructure, *and that's socialism*. As rob explained in the video, this could have been avoided if we just built the regular traffic to go over the main interstate, and if that bridge failed, opened in less than a week after cleaning up the mess. We just accept the risk because of costs. I lose sleep some nights dreaming about some sort of system where the government would create a jobs program, and we just, sent people out to work and rebuilding our long lost dream of the intercontinental railway that could connect the country together again. Bring us all back together by building high speed interstate rail and regional rail systems to connect suburbs to cities and cities to cities and states to states. I can just get on a train from a Seattle Washington suburb to the city, connect to a train to take me to Dallas, TX, and connect to another train to a Dallas suburb and visit my aunt. The whole time I'm just working away on my laptop, drinking coffee, and enjoying the landscape our country has to offer. If I can work from home, any can't I work from a train and connect with people, and explore this beautiful country. But that's just a dream.

[@30215PAPE]

Yeah I figured trains for movin long trains of crude like around cause that's what goes behind my mom's house in Delaware when I was kid it use to move everything from fuel to electronics,cars etc ...few years back they built a second track and all sudden was was alot more trains but all were from oil refinery and they leave them running behind her house for days at a time and we good 6/7 miles probably more if u take rail from the plant..

[@30215PAPE]

Idk if you seen the crash that caused this but he was comin do n that ramp hot and when he tried to take that bend looked like side of his cab and front right corner of trailer smacked that wall something hard PROLY punctured take and while all that metal dragging against that wall so fast threw alot of sparks and 💥 sad situation and and bad situation for the residents and businesses over there in Mayfair that their block became 95 now

[@marcberm]

Fantastic video! A nice concise explanation that makes it easy for folks to understand both the mechanism of damage and the path to repair. Well done!

[@AndrewAMartin]

A similar gasoline tanker fire took out an overpass in the I-81/US-22/322 interchange near Harrisburg, PA a few years back -- fortunately the interstate was not closed, just the two overpasses that were damaged by fire. Luckily enough, the original contractor for the steel beams still exists and still had the design on file, so it was able to make new ones pretty quickly.

[@juju-xx5xn]

Yes, I remember that one. I-81 in that area is bad enough open, would've hated at that time if they closed a portion.

[@craigcarter400]

Sounds like a cool process to get it all done. When I was in Washington State there was a metal bridge collapse a few years ago between Mount Vernon and Burlington on I-5, which is a major roadway between Everett and BC Canada. They did a temporary bridge to open it back up and made the permanent bridge later as well.

[@toneddef]

I drove that route daily while it was being repaired. The process was pretty cool to watch.

[@RollinRobCo]

Thanks for doing this video. I've been watching the PDOT cam on the work and was wondering how they would open it. I saw them filling the gap in and wondered how they would remedy the offramp. Love the rest of your videos, too. Great work!

[@herzogsbuick]

Been watching for at least a year now, and that was by far my favorite video you've done. Impressively resourceful, informative, and fun. Born and raised in Bucks County, 35 minutes from downtown: you are, in fact, eating a steak sandwich. Steak sandwiches come in so many wonderful shapes and sizes, with different ingredients and dreams. What you are not eating, is a Philly Cheese Steak (or cheese steak as we'd say or often just "steak" for short). Don't ever let someone tell you what you like is bad, but also don't try to tell them it's something that it's not. I blame restaurants, not patrons :-)

[@TheBaconKing32]

Remember this happened in Detroit, like 2008 or so. The bridge was above I-75, so it didn't congest things too bad. I just remember i was coming down 75 and you could see that smoke for a good 50 miles.

[@edwardmeade]

What also helps is that the road network in the Acela corridor is very dense so there are a lot of options for getting around any single point of failure.

[@anonymous-ir3tf]

Not so easy if you live less than a half mile form the single point of failure, trust me.

[@NickClarkDrums]

Thank you :) I live a few minutes down Cottman ave and this finally explained to me what the hell they meant by having a temporary fix

[@kingsford3657]

The opening shot kind of reminded me of the guy in Close Encounters who made the model of Devil’s Tower. ✨✨✨

[@danieldaniels7571]

Wasn’t that mashed potatoes?

[@clearsmashdrop5829]

@@danieldaniels7571First one was mashed potatoes. Then a clay one....then it grew into everything from the back yard. :)

[@biglos9d]

The guy = Richard Dreyfuss

[@12baumarobi]

This was so great! Thank you for making the 3D model and for explaing that the expanding rebar made the concrete rapidly chip away causing the collapse.

[@deebee533]

Great model in such a short time and great explanation. Makes sense. Here in PA, we have tons of roads around here under constant construction. The turnpike for one that has been under constant varies stages of construction for the past 20 yrs. As long as those retaining walls hold out. Seems NJ had a wall fall early last year and still not fixed.

[@organicinsanity2534]

The little model you made was worth all the effort! Such a cool visual when combined with your style of bringing it to life is just quality content. Never stop!

[@kacornish1]

Great video! I had no idea how they could get a temporary fix done so quickly.

[@gwaeron8630]

Awesome job explaining Rob!

[@mattguey-lee4845]

What they came up with was pretty close to what I thought they would do. The good news for thru traffic is that there are several alternate route. This outage mostly affects NE Philly, however this is still significant.

[@bjr2379]

That’s what I was thinking!

[@danieldaniels7571]

Wow. You absolutely rock for getting on this so fast from the other side of the country.

[@FlatEarthMath]

The time it must have taken you to build, film, and most importantly edit this video... wow man. My hat's off to you. Fantastic job. :-) EDIT: Ok, that quote-unquote "cheesesteak sandwich" was, uh, a sandwich, but it had nothing to do with Philly. The big argument people (outside Philly) have is "who's got the best cheesesteak?" And the answer is NOT Pats, NOT Genos, and NOT Jims. Those places are factories, and who wants to eat from a factory? They let the meat just sit on the grill for a while, waiting for the next tourist to step up and order. Yuck. The best cheesesteak in Philly is LITERALLY any streetcorner vendor with a foodtruck. Fresh, to order, and fast. And inexpensive and delicious. 🙂

[@FEED_ME_A_STRAY_CAT]

I agree! Or any papi (corner) store always has good ones! 🤤

[@rexburman48]

Same goes with Mexican food in socal. If it looks like the health inspector should shut down the hole in the wall restaurant, but people are lined up to get in, then you know it's good.

[@RoadGuyRob]

You mean, I can't get authentic Philadelphia food in California's central valley? 😀

[@FEED_ME_A_STRAY_CAT]

@@RoadGuyRob NGL I definitely got a cheesesteak for dinner because I was inspired by this video yesterday lolol

[@mid_life_crisis13]

If you ever get into San Francisco, Buster’s in North Beach is about as close to an authentic Philly cheesesteak you’re gonna get west of the Susquehanna.

[@randy7928]

Awesome, I'd asked the question myself and had no idea how they'd reopen it so quickly. And your model makes it easy to understand

[@stevej7735]

I could be wrong, but I believe this was a steel girder bridge. Either way, great explanation of the properties of concrete and steel!

[@wakingcharade]

this is really interesting thanks. Lots of people are comparing this to the bridge collapse across the state that reopened within a year (also way way ahead of estimates) but now I understand completely different kinds of things are happening. That bridge was over a ravine, so they really had to just rebuild the bridge itself. This is so clever, though I imagine the actual traffic directing is still going to be quite complicated and slower.

[@jonathankleinow2073]

There's a great documentary about the MacArthur Maze collapse and how it got rebuilt in 26 days. The contractor put in a low bid, counting on getting a $5 million bonus for early completion. I hope there's a C.C. Myers on the east coast to tackle this!

[@jontrimble5581]

Thank you for that incredible update. 95 has been a major artery for me (and many) for years. We look forward to it opening quickly. Stay safe out there:)

[@WaterMan416]

It's amazing how many examples of fuel truck fires ruining bridges we have. Hell, Pennsylvania had one in Harrisburg about a decade ago. It was a viaduct connecting I-81 to US-322. Pretty much the same exact scenario. Also, it's only a cheesesteak if it comes from the cheesesteak region of Pennsylvania, and the only acceptable cheese is provolone (I prefer sharp provolone when I can find it)

[@SDGreg]

Thank you for the explanation. I remember over a decade ago along the I-5 through the Central Valley a flash flood had washed out a bridge that carried interstate traffic above. What Caltrans did was take some flat-bed railroad cars and use them to temporarily span the washed out section and then put asphalt on top to allow a single lane each way while they rebuilt the bridge.

[@Xznyth]

Your absolute right. This is a great video. I’m an inspector on the temporary bridge. It’s almost done

[@Xznyth]

Also that cheesesteak is NOT authentic 😂😅

[@tudorpottudorpot8423]

Do you know why they did it in the middle vs one side?

[@oscarwinner2034]

@@tudorpottudorpot8423 Easier for MPT. Good question though.

[@tudorpottudorpot8423]

@@oscarwinner2034 easier?

[@oscarwinner2034]

@@tudorpottudorpot8423 Less median barrier to pull. Also with the all on one side plan, you need to use three phases. NB, SB, then a final one to rebuild the median. With this, the median is restored in the second phase.

[@Zyzzyx800]

My mind boggles that you could do all of that over night. Loved the model; no idea how to build one. Also loved the whole look and feel of the video; haven't seen anything like it to date. Loved your upbeat and informative presentation. I have subscribed.

[@oelschlegel]

Philly native here. 1) it's just called a "cheesesteak", not a "cheesesteak sandwich". I can understand why you would also prefix it with "philly" not being from here, but that's just superfluous - it's just a cheesesteak. If you know you know. 2) no it's not even close - the *single* most important aspect is the roll. amoroso rolls are the best. meat is next - you can literally make it with any meat you want (e.g. chicken cheesesteak, though traditionally it's thin sliced ribeye), just chop it up on the grill and put the cheese on top at the end, then put the whole mess onto the roll. include grilled onions/peppers if you want as you're cooking the meat ("with") or just the meat/cheese only ("without"). my personal preference is "wiz without" - cheeze wiz no veggies.

[@SomeRandomHuman717]

True, the conventional wisdom has been that Amoroso rolls are the OG component, but many Fluffians have been getting away from Amoroso since they went "production line" in 2015. Local smaller bakeries like Cascia's, Sarcone's, Liscio's, Carangi's and Corpolese's are still favorites of us locals.

[@SilntObsvr]

This is just about what I thought about when I heard they were closing the underpass where the truck had burned during the repair: fill and pave to let traffic pass (one lane each direction, at least -- it'll back up for miles at rush hour, but that's better than backing up to Raleigh) and then repair the actual bridge alongside the temporary roadway. There was a new bridge built this way (half the width at a time) along my daily commute near Winston-Salem a couple years ago. Closure on US 52 (which it passes over) was a couple weekend mornings while they lifted the precast spans into place. The crossing road wasn't closed either, except for those few hours at a time; they opened the first half-width span before removing the old overpass.

[@dropatrain]

Nice video, great explanations with the graphics and all that!

[@shigemorif1066]

Great video! I wondered what the 2 week plan was. On cheesesteaks, living in Philly, I never heard anyone say Philly cheese steak sandwich, just cheesesteak.

[@Mr.Nin10do.]

Imagine if the Brooklyn queens expressway collapsed

[@RoadGuyRob]

That would be horrible!

[@kyledabandit6836]

Its about to happen unfortunately

[@brendangalligan]

Replacing it would be the most needlessly politicized infrastructure project in NYC since Robert Moses. Whether it's fate will be that of the Cross Bronx or the LoMEx is really a coin-toss.

[@PikalaxALT]

@@transitcaptain don't forget trucks, which are prohibited from using the parkways!

[@transitcaptain]

@@PikalaxALT 😔 Some trucks could go around the city but I guess the ones that can’t would have problems

[@digitalhen]

I had no idea this is how steel-reinforced concrete worked! Very informative

[@ilovetotri23]

Excellent explanation! Such a brilliant solution. What was your take on the reroute and rebuild of the 35W bridge in MN?

[@pghrpg4065]

Thanks for the information; this is the first I've heard an explanation like this about the temporary roadway. I'm from Pittsburgh so I'm no cheesesteak expert, but I think an authentic one has to be on a hoagie roll. Adding this the day after my original comment--PennDOT now has a live stream of the I-95 construction.

[@goingindieEN]

That's interesting on how they could keep traffic going while constructing the bridge. Though every time I think of US (slow) road construction, I can't help but think of that Japanese video of them putting a bridge(?) together in less than few days.

[@AquarianNomadic]

Because 23 good old boy companies need to get their cut so it takes longer here.

[@dropatrain]

The final bridge could probably be put together in a few days but there's a ton of lead time to create those concrete reinforced beams in a shop somewhere since they don't just have spares lying around.

[@AL5520]

Japanese did not build a bridge in a few days. There was a fake post about a bridge that was built in 24h to bypass a road that collapsed due to, what looks like, a landslide. This bridge took 2 month to complete and there was no video of this. Since you've mentioned a video, if you've seen it it was probably one of the ways some laces use to deploy a bridge rapidly but this can be done only after careful planing and preparations and fabricating all sections that are made in a very specific way. This is not something that can be done in a day or two without months of preparations. The advantage is that you don't interrupt traffic for long periods of times.

[@rupe53]

@@AL5520 ... some years ago an "instant bridge" was done near me. Not sure how long the design phase took or how much of off-site preparation was done, but it took about 3 months to build a new bridge next to the old one. When that was done the demolition was started on a Friday night and the new pieces were slid sideways, into place. Paving was started late on Sunday and opened for traffic by Monday morning. (two lanes plus shoulders) The following weekend the other direction was done the same way. Landscape and cleanup did take a few more months, with a much smaller crew.

[@oscarwinner2034]

@@dropatrain Beams are steel. Month to get them on site even with the mill putting them at the front of the queue. Just takes that long to setup and fabricate them. Same exact beams that were there before.

[@kjrehberg]

Thanks for the great and accurate video! One note: I-95 isn't the main north/south corridor through this area, so the East Coast isn't panicking at all. The main north/south corridor consists of two other highways: I-295 and the New Jersey Turnpike on the other side of the river.

[@Rhov9]

Honestly I’m wondering now if the quick 95 fix will maybe embarrass or spur NJ to get the collapsed retaining wall on 295 fixed faster now. It’s been SO LONG that they’ve been working on that stretch of road and it just sucks. Now I’m sure there are a lot of reasons why it isn’t as quickly fixable as the 95 collapse, but just the optics of NJ struggling with 295 for 800 years compared to the less than 2 weeks fix on 95 really makes you think 😅

[@blueduck577]

That "cheesesteak" is an abomination. That looks like somebody put steakumms on some wonder bread and called it a day. A cheesesteak is supposed to be served on a hoagie roll with the cheese evenly melted and distributed throughout. Also, I have never heard somebody call it a "cheesesteak sandwich".

[@poshko41]

Getting recommendations from this guy is like bumping into an old friend and bsing for 20 minutes about interstates.

[@n3bruce]

When I first heard that I-95 was going to reopen in 2 weeks, my first thought was that they would use sections of Bailey bridge, where they use modular panels of preassembled trusses to build a temporary bridge. Maryland did something like this on a lot of roads following Hurricane Agnes, and more recently built a temporary bridge over the Patapsco River carrying US 40 while a new permanent bridge was built. It couldn't handle heavy truck traffic, but I-70 was the primary truck route through the area anyway. They were originally deployed in wartime to reopen bombed routes quickly, but but they would have limitations carrying large volumes of heavy truck traffic for the months it will take to rebuild a permanent bridge. I can see why what they are actually planning would be a better solution.

[@oscarwinner2034]

So the temporary bridge option was considered right away. We discussed it Sunday afternoon. The issue here is that the overpass is skewed. The deck is actually a trapezoid. Because of that, concrete diaphragms were built at both ends. Also the existing bridge deck and approach slabs are tied together. There are two pavement relief joints further down the approaches (asphalt filled gaps) that act like an expansion joint for this type of bridge. The lack of expansion joint at the backwalls helps keep the water off the steel and prevents corrosion. Here, it seems like it didn't help with letting the heat escape from under. But who designs for a massive fire under a bridge?

[@SomeRandomHuman717]

There is a "temporary" Bailey Bridge in Northeast Philadelphia, it's on Byberry Road over the Conrail tracks. Been there for probably 30+ years. It's CRIMINAL that PennDOT has not widened Byberry Road to accommodate the horrendous traffic that comes and goes to Woodhaven Rd via Byberry. If they had any foresight they would have figured out how to extend Woodhaven Rd to County Line Rd to provide a path to and from I-95.

[@lq7777]

When the bridge over Pensacola Bay collapsed during Hurricane Ivan in 2004, they placed steel grating spanning the destroyed portion as a temporary fix until it was properly rebuilt.

[@charlesnullens]

1:24 Wait, is that a Southern Railway trainset from the UK? 🤔 They look rather familiar to me as I take them to go see my Dad at weekends 🤤🇬🇧 Interesting video by the way, I was wondering how they were going to use the filler material under the temporary road 👍

[@RoadGuyRob]

It was a free stock image I grabbed off Pixabay lol

[@TheRealScooterGuy]

Back in 2017 or so, there was a tanker accident directly underneath an overpasd on I-84 in/near Boise ID. The bridge over the freeway didn't collapse, but was deemed unsafe for the same reasons described in this video. The truck driver and several USAF airmen died in that crash.

[@janelledowney]

Your cheesesteak sandwich is hardly a Philly cheesesteak. A real Philly cheesesteak would be on a long roll with Cheez-wiz for the cheese.

[@jfwfreo]

No, Provolone is the right cheese for a cheesesteak (I do wish Cheez-Whiz was an option at the Cheesesteak place I go to here in Australia but I don't think Cheez-Whiz is even available in this country at all)

[@stevek8829]

A tanker fire closed I-95 south of Philly airport once about 25 years ago. It was above an overpass which collapsed and took a long time to repair. This fire actually collapsed the northbound lanes according to the news reports.

[@ekoboyz757]

I dont remember that, but there was a tire fire under 95 that caused some parts to be unstable but it wasnt a complete closure.

[@chillies4156]

I know I have said this a lot, but are you making a video about how emergency vehicles turn the traffic light green?

[@RoadGuyRob]

On my list. Need to find a vendor close enough to film.

[@brianleeper5737]

@@RoadGuyRob How about a video about how emergency vehicles turn the traffic light green and keep it green for 10 minutes (or until someone calls dispatch to complain) because they forget to turn off the Opticom emitter. I've seen that happen at least 6 times over the course of 10 years, with both fire and PD. You'd think they'd wire it to turn off when the vehicle is in park.

[@justanotherguy8791]

Your hands on model is much better than animation ever could be. Thank you!

[@donaldbutcher1260]

A similar thing occurred near my home in Palmetto, FL. on I75 and the road was repaired with temporary measures in a like amount of time. Motivated people can do wonderous things!

[@JustRaiHere_2023]

They didn't build retaining walls and then filled it in with aggregate. They built layers of aggregate with the sides being held in by retaining mesh. The weight of each layers creates a stable surface. You can see this from the 24/7 cam as they worked.

[@travcollier]

Practical Engineering's video on stabilized earth is the go-to explainer for that IMO Rob gets a few things technically wrong and glosses over a lot of details in this video, but that's fine. It's just a good quick overview of what's happening, and doesn't pretend to be anything more.

[@jdgvee9313]

Thats still a retaining wall

[@travcollier]

@@jdgvee9313 Actually, probably not. If it is stabilized earth, the wall doesn't have to hold back large forces and is constructed quite differently from a retaining wall.

[@oscarwinner2034]

It's mesh and a wire "basket" too. The wire baskets are L shaped. Standard retaining wall item used everywhere. The precast parapet panels on top are newer items. They are a Gravix wall system. Fortunately all the materials were in stock for other 95 projects in the area and were borrowed for this repair.

[@Steve_in_NJ]

As a local resident (from Philly, moved to NJ) -- and yes, I still drink war-ter and say "how are yous doing today?", and love me some Rocky (can't run up those Art Museum steps anymore), this was a better explanation than the local news talking heads we have on TV!!!! Thank you for explaining it -- "Engineering for Dummies" style -- oh, and only in this part of the country do we have exit ramps that are narrow loops where trucks crash ALL the time! Remember, here in NJ, we still have left turns from the right turn "jughandle". WTF?

[@LuciaRose]

But they told me that kerosene can´t melt steal beams 🤨

[@RoadGuyRob]

I can sure bend 'em, though. Heat expansion is wild.

[@macmedic892]

Melt? No. Soften to the point of failure? Oh hell yeah. Rosie is not a credible source for science content.

[@mcbrian]

Super cool video, love the brief and detailed explanation

[@benjaminotto5711]

Thank you for the video, I found out that investing is not for everybody, you just need a strong stomach too see your portfolio go down. It might be wiser for a novice to start with copy trading investing, but it is not easy. To invest in growth stocks it is another level, definitely you need to know what are you doing.

[@benjaminotto5711]

From my own point of view, you need to invest smartly if you need the good things of life. so far i've made over $255k in raw profits from just 6 months into the market from my diversified portfolio strategy and i believe anyone can do it you have the right strategy, mutual funds takes long time but investing smartly is the key for short term. Most of us tend to pay more attention to the shiniest position in the market to the cost of proper diversification.

[@waltercamela]

This is a phenomenal advice for a new stock traders and investors who want that quick short term game, but don't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

[@bobschriswell565]

I've been solely investing in real estate. But with the recent hyper home pricing i've liquidated a few things and have $45k in cash laying around idle. Would love to get your recommendations, I'm in search of something lucrative in the current crazy markets, i will be glad.

[@benjaminotto5711]

My portfolio is very much diversified so it's not like i have a particular fund i invest in, plus i dont do that by myself. i follow the trades of Mrs Karen Gaye Gray. She is a popular broker you might have heard of. I can correctly say she's worth her salt as a financial advisor as her diversification skills are top notch, because i see that in her results as my portfolio grows by averages of 10 to 15% on a monthly basis, unlike i can say for my IRA which has just been trudging along, my portfolio just mirrors what she trades and not just on some particular industries of my choosing.

[@benjaminotto5711]

Yes, exactly. It's all programmatic and automated, plus it's relatively much easier to set up and connect my accounts than creating a financial plan and drafting investment strategies myself, my account just mirrors her trades in realtime.

[@TheRandomCollector2020]

i love how there wasn't a single car on the road you filmed on

[@jasonfullerton7763]

That sandwich is an abomination. Looks sort of yummy, but in no way resembles a proper cheesesteak. PS. "Cheesesteak sandwich" is redunadant. Calling something a cheesesteak implies it is a sandwich.

[@RoadGuyRob]

It tasted good. Guess I need to get a real on in Philly some day.

[@oelschlegel]

@@RoadGuyRob I lived in Arizona for a minute which might be more your neck of the woods. Tucson has a place called Frankies - the owner is a Philly native and they get Amoroso rolls flown in every three weeks.

[@jasonfullerton7763]

Cook thin sliced rib eye on a flat grill, add raw diced onions (if "with", skip if "without"), chop meat with long spatula edges as cooking to desired texture. Cut open a long Italian roll end to end, but do not slice through. Open and flatten roll. Form a rectangular pile of delicious meat about the length and width of opened roll. Layer American or Provolone (Wiz is for tourists) cheese on top and allow to melt. Place roll, OPENED SIDE DOWN, over the meat and cheese. Use spatula under meat to flip everything. Scoop straggler meat into sandwich, then use the spatula edge to fold the roll closed. Enjoy!

[@jasonfullerton7763]

@@oelschlegel The Cheesesteak Shop chain in the Bay Area, CA is legit as well. I wandered in and discovered the Philly-born founder behind the counter at a store one afternoon years ago. Amoroso flown in daily, etc. Big John Steak & Onion in Mid-Michigan is accidentally a decent steak. No Philly connection, but gets almost everything right except the cheese placement.

[@LadyAnuB]

@@jasonfullerton7763 I was wondering about The Cheese Steak Shop chain. I had them a number of times when I worked in Oakland and lived in El Sobrante. (There's even one in Petaluma now.)

[@The10folks]

OMG! Best damn explanation of what's been going on with the bridge, that I've seen. Well done!

[@naturally_rob]

That's actually a really smart idea. Keeps traffic flowing while work is going.

[@rwboa22]

To correct you: it was the northbound (to PA Turnpike & New York City) lanes that collapsed, not the southbound (to Central Philadelphia, Philadelphia Int'l. Airport, and points south) lanes.

[@anthonywashington2885]

Both strange and incredible is how I would describe this entire situation. Two weeks is incredible. I remember a city bridge caught fire and took 7 months to repair in Phoenix, AZ.

[@R.in.Nashville]

Love your dedication to delivering information!!!! Thanks for breaking it down, great to know how the project is going to play out!! ~Cheers

[@TheMarioBrosBros]

One of the best and underrated channels on KZbin. This channel should be over a million subs by now.

[@ashton9699]

Same thing they've been doing on a local bridge near my house. Its been 4 years and counting.

[@andycortez9316]

I experienced the same thing with the new Kosciuszko bridge in nyc. They kept the bridge open while at the same time replacing the old bridge with a new one. The staging technique is amazing.

[@TheCloakedTiger]

I remember back in 2008 when I was growing up in CA, the MacArthur Maze in Oakland had a similar accident. Truck caught fire and melted one of the overpasses and it was a race against time to get it back up and running again. BART ridership soared to new levels and they managed to get it all fixed within a month. In a way this situation is similar. SEPTA ridership is probably going up like crazy. But two weeks to fix it? That’s unreal! :O

[@spaul6368]

Excellent description and visualization of the phased reconstruction process. Thank you for the video explanation.

[@DamianTHallan]

What a great video And this is exactly how PennDOT reopened the corridor to traffic.

[@Zyzzyx42]

I can't be the only one who appreciates that he films this on the double yellow of a road. By the surroundings, I'd guess its likely a dead end, but still... nice touch.

[@toddgunther8272]

Rob triggers millions with his "cheesesteak" -- love it!

[@Santa125]

First time viewer here, you're serving up big Bill Nye energy with the sound effects added to your explanation about the strengths and weaknesses of concrete and steel. Great work!

[@Stratelier]

A few years ago near the Oregon Coast we saw something similar: ODOT wanted to replace/upgrade the old 3-lane US101 bridge over Hoquarton Slough near downtown Tillamook city, but that highway is basically the ONLY connection between the north strip and downtown proper. (And the ONLY detour is found 3 miles east) The project solved the matter by: 1 - Constructing half of the new bridge adjacent to the old one 2 - Redirecting traffic onto the new bridge then demolishing the old one 3 - Constructing the _other_ half of the new bridge in the newly available space 4 - Connecting both halves together to finish the project The new bridge has 4 travel lanes plus bicycle shoulder lanes, and they did all that without even a day of closing off the highway.

[@nicholasalonzo7824]

Thanks uncle Rob. Much appreciated for your hard work and staying up all night working on this model.

[@Mrbeahz1]

Your explanation thermal behavior of concrete versus steel was excellent.

[@ZachComa]

In Illinois instead of phasing, we call it staging most of the time, but I have seen it called phasing as well. I work in Civil and developing staging for roadways can be a complicated ordeal handling traffic movements, especially when it involves something like an intersection.

[@jeffjohnsisland5551]

Great explanation, I understand how they are going to open it so quickly. Thanks.

[@tommays56]

I just drove over it 12 hours before the fire to visit family in Philly and was surprised by what great condition 95 was in

[@oscarwinner2034]

It's coming along. Eventually it will be a 8 lane highway from center city to Bensalem.

[@APettyJ]

Dude, they had JUST finished the section and had reopened it! I drove it the night before, too, and pleasantly noted to myself, "Hey! No concrete barriers and construction zone lanes! All lanes open!" When I saw the news about the fire the next morning, I was like, "Figures..."

[@cal920c]

The second you said retaining walls I literally said "OHHH!". Well done to the people in charge for thinking outside the box.

[@comicus01]

Similar to when they widened the 22 freeway through Orange County (Garden Grove area). The 22 runs above almost all the streets it crosses. So they built new side bridges for the new outer lanes. Once those were finished, they diverted traffic onto those and demolished the old bridges (apparently they all needed replacing anyway, but I think they may have also widened the streets underneath). This meant driving along you encountered what was basically a chicane every half mile or so for about a year.

[@MikeV8652]

That was a masterful explanation. Thanks, Rob!

[@wgreenjr81]

If you ever decide to take on disaster recovery/repair/replacement (for lack of a better label) as a content type, you should look at the replacement of the I-5 Skagit River Bridge near Burlington WA in 2013. I have contentions with the distribution of blame in the incident, but the temporary replacement timeline was amazing.