PHILADELPHIA — The race to reopen a stretch of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia is getting a boost from a truck-mounted jet dryer that's normally used to keep moisture off the track at the Pocono Raceway.
A vehicle-mounted, kerosene-fueled turbine arrived Thursday at the scene of the June 11 fire at an underpass. Both directions of the heavily traveled interstate have been closed, pinching off traffic on the East Coast's main north-south highway.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said this week he expects a temporary fix to be in place so traffic can resume in the coming days, but with rain in the forecast the NASCAR track's jet dryer is expected to help by getting the asphalt dry enough for lines to be painted.
A PennDOT spokeswoman said the idea came from Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll, a former state lawmaker who represented a district near the racetrack in Long Pond, about 100 miles north of Philadelphia.