IGS UK hosts webinar on I-95 Philadelphia bridge collapse repair using geosynthetics; HUESKER North America speaker to detail emergency reconstruction completed in 12 days on Nov. 26

A major geosynthetics repair project that went on to win a regional IGS Corporate Case Study competition will be explored at an upcoming webinar.

IGS UK will be hosting speaker Vona Orajuega, whose company HUESKER North America, was instrumental in carrying out emergency repairs to an elevated section of the I-95 interstate highway in Philadelphia when it partially collapsed following a tragic road accident.

In June 2023, a fuel tanker crashed onto the road below the bridge, killing its driver. The crash weakened the steel beams supporting the bridge, causing it to collapse.

Following forensic examination of the sewerage tunnels under the original bridge – which workers feared may have been damaged by the intense heat of the fire – a decision was made to use lightweight fill material in the form of blown glass aggregate reinforced with woven polyester grids to create a safe, temporary fix.

The work was completed in just 12 days, allowing the road – part of a major transport network stretching from Maine to Florida – to reopen.

Register now for the fascinating webinar, ‘I-95 Philadelphia Bridge Collapse, Emergency Repair Using Geosynthetic Reinforcement‘ on Tuesday, November 26, at 6pm GMT, which will detail the extraordinary reconstruction project using geosynthetics.

Mr Orajuega, a Technical Business Manager for HUESKER North America, presented the case study during the IGS Corporate Case Study Competition at GeoAmericas 2024, titled ‘I-95 bridge collapse emergency repair in Philadelphia: geogrid reinforced recycled glass aggregate wall constructed in 12 days’. The profile will now join other regional winners in the grand final at the 13th International Conference on Geosynthetics in Montreal, Canada, in 2026.

For more about IGS UK, visit the Chapter website here.