Cement chunks on 26th Street in South Philly causes concern for motorists

Motorists who drive on 26th Street in South Philly are beginning to notice some wear and tear. The instability of the bridge overhead is causing alarm and now officials are hoping to prevent it from raining cement onto drivers.

FOX 29's Jeff Cole reports.

26th Street in South Philly connects motorists to I-76 on one side and the Platt Bridge and I-95 on the other. Drivers likely notice the tank farm that rises-up, but miss something far more important: Baseball-size chunks of cement resting on the road.

"It's a hazard and can cause accidents--death. That's something that needs to be fixed, doesn't need to be prolonged. They need to get to it right away," motorist Tina Lawson said.

And it's not just the street. What's best described as 'cement boulders' sit directly under a rail bridge just off the busy road.

A FOX 29 viewer, who drives 26th Street, alerted us to the problem and we looked. FOX 29's Jeff Cole reports the underside of the bridge, loose chunks of cement sit on supports looking ready to tumble onto speeding vehicles and water appears to have chewed away at the bridge's underpinning possibly leading to the shower of cement.

"Any kind of debris on all of our roadways needs to be cleaned up. It definitely poses a safety risk," Brad Rudolph with PennDOT said.

FOX 29 called PennDOT, which controls 26th Street and by early Wednesday afternoon a PennDOT worker had arrived to say the loose and falling cement "was a serious concern".

PennDOT says it alerted its contact for the rail bridge.

"There may be deficiencies or there may be something wrong with your structure. It appears some kind of material is falling our our roadway," Rudolph said.

PennDOT says its crew will quickly clear the cement from the road. FOX 29 called to CSX Transportation and Conrail to alert them to the hazard. PennDOT says it's doing the same.