BALTIMORE — Many drivers from Maryland who are heading north are feeling the impact of the collapsed overpass on I-95 in Philadelphia.
I-95 has a major impact on the trucking industry, with many of those drivers already dealing with massive shipment delays and having to reroute.
"The only route from southeast side is 95; there is no other route," said Begshaw Banjaw.
A few drivers at the TA in Maryland worried about what the near future of the industry is going to look like now that one of the major routes they take on the east coast is impacted.
"We're in the oversize department, so we are only limited to the routes we're allowed to travel, so it might play a big affect on that as in how many miles we have to detour around because of height or width," said Andy Hawkins.
Not only is the impact felt in the Philadelphia area, but it's also felt here in Baltimore. One driver told WMAR-2 News he can't even leave the lot because so many drivers can't go further north on 95.
"I can't even get out of here right now to go drop my load off. I'm supposed to be going north to Pennsylvania to pick a load, but because of the uptick in drivers and stuff right here, it's crowded down here," said Anthony Jackson.
Drivers say they will still be able to do their jobs, but a simple pick up and delivery could now take double the time it did before.
"You know, people might not be able to get that load in the evening and get to delivery in the morning in one shot now," said Hawkins.
"Everything that you have to do is pre-planning, so you’re losing fuel your losing sleep, and sleep is the most important thing for a truck driver; if we don't got sleep we don't got nothing," said Jackson.
Other drivers say that for the time being, they plan on avoiding shipments that require them to take 95 all together.
Jackson says this is going to impact more than just drivers in the Philly area. He says the roadways in Maryland will be more crowded for a while.
"But the next couple of months every town, Baltimore city, you know, go all the way up to Harford County, Delaware, you know Philadelphia area, Chester County and all of that they gonna see the impact not just today. People think just because the burning of the bridge is going to impact us today no it isn't. its going to impact us months on months on months until they can get this thing right," said Jackson.
Engineers say it may take five to eight weeks to rebuild the overpass, but the economic impact will last long after the repairs are done.
