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Atlanta: major interstate bridge collapses in fire Atlanta: major interstate bridge collapses after huge fire
(about 5 hours later)
An elevated section of a major north-south highway for the south-east US has collapsed in a massive fire, prompting warnings of traffic chaos. An elevated section of a major north-south highway in the south-east of the US has collapsed in a massive fire.
Atlanta’s traffic is expected to be more tangled than usual after the fire caused a bridge on Interstate 85 to come down, shutting the busy highway. Atlanta’s notoriously tangled commutes were thrown into disarray when a bridge on Interstate 85 collapsed after a fire burned for more than an hour under the northbound lanes, shutting down the busy highway through the heart of the city during rush hour on Thursday afternoon.
Georgia’s top transportation official said there was no way to tell when the highway, which carries 250,000 vehicles a day, could be safely reopened to traffic in either direction following the collapse, which happened on Thursday afternoon during rush hour. Traffic was bumper to bumper in the area as people scrambled to find alternative routes.
“We will have to continue to evaluate the situation and adjust as we do,” the Department of Transportation commissioner, Russell McMurry, said. “This incident – make no bones about it – will have a tremendous impact on travel.” Officials said no one had been hurt despite towering flames and plumes of smoke captured in dramatic video footage.
The interstate is a major artery for the US south and a thoroughfare for traffic heading north and south through Atlanta. The bridge collapse effectively “puts a cork in the bottle”, the Georgia state patrol commissioner, Mark McDonough, said. “This is about as serious a transportation crisis as we can imagine,” said Atlanta’s mayor, Kasim Reed.
The state governor, Nathan Deal, declared a state of emergency, saying resources were being mobilised to try to keep traffic disruption to a minimum while emergency work continued. Commuters in some of Atlanta’s densely populated northern suburbs face the prospect of needing to find alternative routes or take public transport for weeks or even months.
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority planned to increase rail services and have additional staff on hand to help passengers with their journeys. Georgia’s top transport official said there was no way to tell when the highway, which carries 250,000 cars a day, could be safely reopened to traffic in either direction after the collapse in the northbound lanes leading out of the city.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the fire burned for more than an hour under I-85 northbound near Piedmont Road, spewing up clouds of black smoke. “We will have to continue to evaluate the situation and adjust as we do,” said the state transport department’s commissioner, Russell McMurry. “This incident, make no bones about it, will have a tremendous impact on travel.”
Traffic was bumper to bumper on nearby surface streets Thursday night as people scrambled to find alternate routes. McMurry said bridge inspectors had determined that the southbound lanes of I-85 had also been damaged by the fire and would need to remain closed for the near future.
However, officials said no one was hurt despite dramatic images of towering flames and plumes of smoke. He said the fire had started in an area used to store construction materials, equipment and supplies, and authorities were working to determine how the blaze began.
“This is about as serious a transportation crisis as we can imagine,” Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed said. Bobby Barnhart, who works for a financial technology company near the road, said he and his colleagues had watched the bridge collapse from about 60 yards away as the fire raged. He said he heard several explosions beneath the bridge, followed by a slow rumbling. “It was a big sound. You could feel the vibrations,” Barnhart said.
Rose Diggs told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she lives less than a mile from the fire site but could not get home because of blocked surface streets. She said she was told to walk despite being disabled. “But it’s raining and dark,” she said. With the interstate closed, Barnhart said his Friday morning commute had taken him about 30 minutes rather than the normal 10 to 15.
Captain Mark Perry of the Georgia state patrol told the newspaper the agency doesn’t know what started the fire beneath the bridge but terrorism is not suspected. The interstate is a major artery for traffic heading north and south through Atlanta. The bridge collapse effectively “puts a cork in the bottle,” according to Georgia’s state patrol commissioner, Mark McDonough.
Deal told reporters that some PVC material in a vehicle may have caught fire. Georgia’s governor, Nathan Deal, declared a state of emergency, saying the state was mobilising resources to minimise traffic disruption while emergency work continued. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority increased the number of rail services on Friday.
“I do not know why they did or what the source of their transport was,” Deal said Thursday. “But those are questions that will hopefully be answered at least by tomorrow morning.” Deal said that PVC plastic materials in a vehicle may have caught fire.
Atlanta Fire Department spokesman Sergeant Cortez Stafford said no cars were on the overpass when it fell. Atlanta fire department spokesman Sgt Cortez Stafford said no cars were on the overpass when it fell. “Our guys got here quickly and shut down the interstate and said: ‘No one else is driving over this bridge,’” he said.
“Our guys got here quickly and shut down the interstate and said, ’No one else is driving over this bridge,’” he said.
Firefighters noticed chunks of concrete falling from the bridge and got out of the way just minutes before it collapsed, Stafford said.
Deal said inspectors were at the scene and have contacted the company that built the bridge to come and assess the extent of the damage.
“We’re trying to determine everything we can about how quickly can we repair it and get it back in service,” Deal said. “I can assure you we will do everything to expedite the repair and replacement of that section of the bridge.”