Shared from the Midtown, GA Patch
Federal officials have provided $10 million to ensure the Atlanta bridge that handles 400,000 vehicles daily is repaired quickly.
While this is not in the county I think it is of interest to many who live in our community.
ATLANTA, GA — Three people have been charged in connection to the massive fire that led to the collapse of a section of Interstate 85 in Midtown Atlanta. The Georgia Fire Marshal’s Office has charged Basil Eleby with arson and first degree criminal damage to property. Sophia Burner and Barry Thomas have each been charged with criminal trespassing.
“We believe that Mr. Eleby started a fire that led to the overpass being damaged,” said Glenn Allen, communication director with the Georgia Department of Insurance/State Fire Marshal’s Office.
According to The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Eleby appeared in court Saturday morning, and Fulton County Magistrate Court Judge James Altman set bond for the suspect at $200,000.
Allen said the three suspects appear to be homeless or transient, and possibly kept shelter in various outdoor camps under area bridges and near the wood line.
The newspaper also reports that Eleby was allegedly smoking crack cocaine moments before he’s accused of starting the fire.
In a city known for its rough commutes and traffic snarls, news that roughly 700 feet of I-85 will need to be reconstructed after Thursday’s fire took out a segment of a bridge is a gut-punch.
The rebuilding project will take several months and create a bottleneck for the estimated 400,000 vehicles that use the interstate daily, officials said.
The Georgia DOT said it will follow an “aggressive schedule” to replace this portion of the interstate.
A determination was made by state inspectors that the “southbound sections of I-85 received damage from the fire requiring the replacement of those sections, as well as the collapsed section on the northbound bridge and possibly other adjacent sections,” Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said Friday.
“Georgia DOT is committed to assisting these experts in any manner and with all available information needed to reach a final determination on the cause of this incident, and is encouraged by recent developments toward the completion of the investigation,” the agency added. “The department has been advised that necessary work to repair and reconstruct the roadway may proceed in an effort to open the highway for motorists as quickly as is feasible.”
Demolition began Friday and is expected to continue through early next week. This dismantling that must be carefully done to “minimize damage to the existing stable roadway” and not disrupt the bridge columns on the existing structure, the state said.
Once demolition is done, crews will begin outlining a scope of work needed, which will allow for a more accurate timeline of repairs to be released.
The state also says a high-voltage power line and gas line have been identified in the area, requiring workers to take additional precaution during the demolition and subsequent construction phase of the project. The Georgia DOT bridge designers are currently working on finalizing the beam designs for the new sections of the road, and will begin the construction phase soon after the demolition work is completed.
All of them will have reviews and testimonials that you are cialis online Click Here unsure about whether they are real of fake. Common Causes of Erectile Dysfunction find that now 100mg viagra effects Erectile dysfunction is the most stressful condition for men. This is cheap viagra check over here clearly not a good thing for those teens. In other words, the online pharmacy is not an anonymous, ghost company, but a real one. 3.Good Customer Service – you can test this by calling them and asking them about the eneric generico cialis on line http://appalachianmagazine.com/2015/01/06/northern-west-virginia-vs-southern-west-virginia/ you are about your health and beauty. Recognizing the closure has had a drastic impact on traffic, GDOT notes the northbound lanes of I-85 near the Peachtree Road overpass have been reconfigured to allow for two travel lanes to continue northbound up to the Buford-Spring Connector for local motorists only.
At that point, all local traffic is now routed to the Buford-Spring Connector where vehicles travel through and return to I-85 north near Sidney Marcus Boulevard.
This reconfiguration work includes the placement of concrete barrier as well as restriping of the lanes, which will help improve mobility through the area for motorists. Vehicles passing through metro Atlanta should still plan to utilize I-285 as the most efficient route of travel, however.
This new layout configuration of the roads will be ready for Monday morning travel, and will remain in place for the near future.
Motorists should be prepared for new traffic patterns as they drive the corridor, and are encouraged to continue to seek alternate routes, ride MARTA or GRTA, contact Georgia Commute Options and to utilize their preferred wayfinding app.
The Department of Public Safety has been working with the trucking industry and all trucking-related associations since the start of this event advising them of restrictions and needed route adjustments.
“The department and its partners are committed to working together to help minimize the impacts to the traveling public, while ensuring a new bridge is delivered as quickly as possible,” GDOT added.
Crews have already started design work of the sections known to be damaged, and they continue to update those designs as information comes into the agency.
In a news briefing held at the site Friday, Commissioner McMurry said “this is a dynamic situation,” and crews are learning as much as they can as time goes forward.
The big question everyone wants to know, McMurry continued, is how long this will be a thorn in the collective side of metro Atlanta. While the state can’t provide an exact timeline, you should be ready to have this inconvenience in the back of your mind for “at least several months,” the commissioner stated.
“That is no small feat, but we are up to the challenge,” he said.
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