I-95 Collapse Will Increase Price of Goods, Says Buttigieg

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said there’s “no question” prices will face “upward pressure” because of the collapse of a section of Interstate 95 during a Tuesday visit to the site. 

The secretary toured the site of the Sunday incident, where a tractor-trailer flipped over and caught fire outside Philadelphia, saying that the interstate is a “key artery for the movement of people and goods” along the East Coast. 

With the date of restoration unknown, Buttigieg said that truckers will have to take alternate routes in the meantime, which could mean taking longer and more costly routes. While he hasn’t seen official numbers yet, that disruption will “find its way into the price of goods,” the secretary remarked. 

In the interim, Buttigieg said the Transportation Department is putting all its efforts into getting the interstate restored as quickly and safely as possible. 

“At the end of the day, there’s no substitute for I-95 being up and running in full working condition,” Buttigieg said. “And that’s the goal that everybody’s moving toward here.”