Barricades are making life tough in Tacony amid I-95 mess
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Harbison Avenue, clogged with traffic as it approaches I-95. Photo: Courtesy of Andy Adams/isotrailsphoto
Life is passing by the Northeast Philly residents and businesses in the rubble of the I-95 collapse.
What's happening: Streets in Tacony are blocked off with steel barricades to help ease heavy traffic along the State Road detour route.
- But the mess is stifling access, making life harder for those who live and work in the neighborhood.
Why it matters: As of now, there's no end in sight.
What they're saying: Regina Byers, who lives on National Street, tells Axios that police have required residents who leave for work or to run errands to show IDs when they return home. Her commute has tripled because of the traffic restrictions.
- People are having trouble sleeping due to the hum of jackhammering from construction crews working night and day.
- Business owners are struggling to get to work in a timely manner and take care of routine tasks in the neighborhood.
Not that businesses are humming. Rocco Nicolletti, owner of Nicoletti Beverage, says he's lost nearly all of customers, most normally coming from surrounding Mayfair and Holmesburg.
- As he put it: "This is worse than the pandemic."
Background: Tacony is a mostly white, working-class neighborhood dotted by bakeries, automotive shops, tow-truck wreckers and liquor stores.
- It's famously home to Four Seasons Total Landscaping, where Donald Trump's then attorney Rudy Giuliani held a press conference alleging voter fraud in Philly during the 2020 election.
Zoom in: It's still unclear how trash pickup for residents, plus truck access to a waste processing facility in the area will be affected.
- City workers have been canvassing businesses to determine how best to assist and limit street closures, Councilmember Michael Driscoll tells Axios. “We can figure this out, but I’m sure there’s anxiety with the businesses,” he says.
1 question on everyone's mind: How long will the extra noise and congestion last?
Besides the traffic, media trucks have camped out in the area and a helicopter hovered above where Gov. Josh Shapiro held a news conference Wednesday.
- The rebuild plan calls for 15,000 cubic yards of glass fill to be trucked in and paved over the site. Three center lanes are being constructed each way that'll allow traffic to resume in both directions while crews rebuild outside lanes.
- The project could take months.
💭 Isaac's thought bubble: I spent Wednesday in the neighborhood. It was eerily reminiscent of COVID times. Few people walked the streets, and it felt quiet and tense. Police officers impatiently waived through a sea of frustrated drivers who were packed onto State Road like schools of tuna. Business owners are distressed. They want answers to questions that so far officials can't provide.