Fire on I85 bridge in Atlanta

[SC kid]

Drivers in one of the nation's most congested cities faced a jarring new reality Friday as they were forced to game out how to get around a collapsed portion of Atlanta's Interstate 85 -- one of the Southeast's major north-south arteries

A mysterious fire collapsed an I-85 northbound overpass Thursday evening -- injuring no one -- and also damaged the southbound portion, forcing the closure of all five lanes in each direction for the foreseeable future.
The shutdown likely sets the city up for traffic headaches for months to come after creating navigation hell on Thursday with jams that extended five miles or more and stranded motorists in the immediate area for hours.
I-85 collapse: By the numbers
220,000+: Estimated number of cars that drive through the stretch of I-85 per day

6:12 p.m. ET Thursday: Atlanta firefighters get first call about the fire

7 p.m.: Time the portion of Interstate 85 collapsed

40 feet: Height of the wall of fire at the interstate

350 feet: Length of the sections of I-85 that need to be replaced in each direction

50%: Traffic increase seen on the I-285 bypass in the day after the collapse

The closure comes at a sensitive time for a city accustomed to gridlock -- with hordes of spring break vacationers poised to drive though the regional hub and the Atlanta Braves set to play a preseason game Friday night in their new stadium in the city's northwest corner.
"I think it's as serious a transportation crisis as we could have," Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said Thursday evening.
Latest developments
• It will take "at least several months" to rebuild the collapsed and otherwise damaged portions of I-85, Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry told reporters Friday afternoon.


• It will take "at least several months" to rebuild the collapsed and otherwise damaged portions of I-85, Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry told reporters Friday afternoon.
Flames from a massive fire that eventually led a portion of the highway to collapse are seen Thursday along Interstate 85 in Atlanta.
Flames from a massive fire that eventually led a portion of the highway to collapse are seen Thursday along Interstate 85 in Atlanta.
• Three sections of northbound I-85 -- including the section that collapsed -- and three sections of southbound I-85 will have to be replaced, McMurry said. That's 350 feet of highway -- nearly a football field -- in each direction, he said. Demolition of these sections started Friday and will last into Monday, McMurry said.
• The cause of the fire isn't known, McMurry said.
• Measuring the traffic impact with that section of I-85 closed: There has been a 50% increase on the Interstate 285 ring around Atlanta, and a 25% increase in traffic on major city streets near the closed area, he said.
'Fell with a big kaboom'
The fire started Thursday evening under an I-85 overpass in north-central Atlanta, north of the highway's split with I-75.
The flames ignited in an area where the state stores construction materials and supplies near the overpass, McMurry said.
At first, I-85 motorists drove through the smoke, and firefighters fought the flames below. It eventually grew into a massive fireball.

crazy

 

[jjs07]

:17 anyone see those cars drive thru?

 

[legreyfoxx]

It's unreal. I was nearby the area yesterday too. I haven't kept up with any updates but hope no one was killed or hurt by it. Last I checked there were no reports.

 

[SC kid]

What are they using for an alt route?

That traffic must b insane

 

[oh you mad]

What are they using for an alt route?

That traffic must b insane

Probably still not as bad as the 405

 

[guccjermaine2]

 always something

 

[derryj3]

Luckily I had Jury Duty yesterday so I took the day off. Was at home playing Halo when people started texting me asking if I was alright.

Traffic gonna be horrible for awhile now.

 

[antidope]

My number one Atlanta driving fear is spaghetti junction collapsing. Hate being near it at any time.

 

[Mark Antony]

Them folks driving through about a quarter mile of thick black smoke must be insane.

 

[Nawzlew]

Oh ****

 

[ihavemyownopinion]

Yeah. Those people that drove thru are crazy. I'm sure wherever they were going wasn't worth risking their lives.

 

[sogood]

Even though I rarely used that section of 85 I'm SO glad I don't live in Atlanta anymore to deal with this.

Very happy to hear that there were no injuries or deaths though -- could've been a lot worse.

 

[frshstunna]

Sheesh , traffic gon be extra rough in ATL for while now :x ...good luck to the Atlanta NTers , traffic/driving is one of the only reasons I'm glad I don't live there anymore

 

[cosmiccoffee9]

The falcons still collapsed harder then that bridge.

because no one was injured, I can admit this was hilarious.

 

[a blinkin]

Luckily I had Jury Duty yesterday so I took the day off. Was at home playing Halo when people started texting me asking if I was alright.

Traffic gonna be horrible for awhile now.

Last report I heard said 2 - 3 months.

 

[antidope]

I saw them say 39 days. Yeah Ok Atlanta.

 

[nazdrowie]

 [h1]3 arrested in Atlanta fire underneath interstate bridgE [/h1][h1]Published April 01, 2017  [/h1]
Three people have been arrested in connection with the raging fire that collapsed a portion of Interstate 85 a few miles north of downtown Atlanta, crippling a major traffic artery in a city already known for dreadful rush-hour congestion.

Deputy Insurance Commissioner Jay Florence said Friday evening that Basil Eleby faces a charge of criminal damage to property, and Sophia Bruner and Barry Thomas each were charged with criminal trespass.

"We believe they were together when the fire was set and Eleby is the one who set the fire," Florence told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Florence would not discuss how the fire was started or why, saying those details would be released as the investigation progresses.

The fire broke out Thursday afternoon in an area used to store state-owned construction materials and equipment, sending flames and smoke high into the air.

Dozens of firefighters battling the roaring blaze beneath the roadway moved safely out of harm's way amid telltale signs the roadway was breaking apart from the intense heat.

"They heard the cracking of the concrete," Atlanta Fire Chief Joel Baker said. "They could see concrete was flying all over the place toward firefighters."

Firefighters shut down the roadway before it fell and retreated safely without injury.

Experts in structural engineering said fires on highways and bridges rarely burn long enough or hot enough to cause a complete collapse — but it has happened. Intense heat can compromise even steel-reinforced concrete, said Lauren Stewart, director of the Structural Engineering and Materials Laboratory at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

"With fires, especially fires that burn for long periods and with high heat, you can see structures, anything from buildings to bridges, can have their material properties degrade," Stewart said.

It's happened before. In 1996, a fire in a big pile of tires beneath I-95 in Philadelphia left a span too weak to handle cars, forcing authorities to shut down 4 miles of the busy East Coast route for repairs.

Andy Herrmann, a retired partner with the New York-based engineering firm Hardesty & Hanover, said there have also been a few instances of gasoline trucks crashing and causing intense heat that damaged overpasses.

Herrmann said concrete will undergo severe cracking at about 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit and start disintegrating at higher temperatures. Building roads to withstand such heat would be prohibitively expensive, he said.

"We have limited dollars for maintaining our bridges," Herrmann said. "This is such a rare thing to occur."

The highway collapse in Atlanta forced commuters Friday to find different routes to work or to use mass transit. Things won't be back to normal for months, said Russell McMurry, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation.

McMurry told a news conference Friday that 350 feet of highway will need to be replaced in both directions on I-85, which carries about 400,000 cars a day through Atlanta and is one of the South's most important north-south routes. He said repairs will take "at least several months."

Traffic was bumper to bumper Friday on streets near the closed stretch of highway. Amelia Ford picked a new route to drive to work and said it took her 45 minutes to travel 3 miles from her Atlanta home to the nearest open on-ramp to the interstate.

McMurry said his department stored coils of plastic conduit, used in fiber optic networks, beneath the span but insisted they were noncombustible.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao promptly released $10 million for the initial repair work, and the Federal Highway Administration promised more in emergency repair funds. Officials gave no estimate of how much the job would cost.

Built in 1953 and renovated in 1985, the collapsed span scored a sufficiency rating of 94.6 out of 100 in its last inspection in 2015, said Natalie Dale, a spokeswoman for the Georgia DOT.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/04/01/3-arrested-in-atlanta-fire-underneath-interstate-bridge.html

 

[ninjahood]

heard a crackhead was da cause of this

 

[ZOMBAVELI THE DON]

talmbout burnin bridges

 

[HNL HI]

what the hell did the guy use to start the fire?

 

[ihavemyownopinion]

I heard that too, but I'm not buying it. Crackheads are capable of a lot, but I don't see how they could get their hands on materials that can burn hot enough to burn a bridge. I've seen cars on fire on bridges and even that didn't cause the structure to light on fire. Need more details. But placing the blame on a few crackheads just seems... Convenient.

 

[SC kid]

Sn checks out.

So youre saying there was a more sinister motive?

 

[joe billionaire]

Probably got a hold of some jet fuel

 

[ihavemyownopinion]

I have no idea what the motive was/is. But what I'm saying is that the situation seems so iffy that there definitely exists the possibility of there being more to it than simply some crackheads lighting a bridge on fire.

 

[SC kid]

minutes prior to the catastrophic collapse of the I-85 bridge in Atlanta, this bulletin continues, US news reports state that a witness, named James Shilkett, was driving near this bridge and reported to local authorities that he saw PVC piping on fire—and that SVR analysts note is one of the most desired “lone wolf” bomb making components used by Islamic State terrorists, and that they’ve published about in their online bomb making instruction manuals and online social media videos too.







Leading to the SVR concluding that a bomb destroyed the steel reinforced (rebar) I-85 bridge in Atlanta, this bulletin explains, is that PVC piping (though it does provide a good compression rating for use in bomb making) has superior fire ******ing properties due to its chlorine content and absolutely cannot reach the temperature needed to destroy concrete—and that requires a temperature of thousands of degrees Fahrenheit before it begins to decompose, and that only a thermal lance that can reach temperatures of 8,130 °F (4,770 K) is able to do.

Even more important to note, this bulletin says, is that all bridge supports used in the US Interstate Highway System (IHS) are composed of structural steel making it impossible for them to collapse from a fire of any kind lasting just 30 minutes—and with the Atlanta I-85 bridge having its fire being reported at 18:30 (local time) and its collapse 30 minutes later at 17:00, means that the only possible reason for this catastrophic collapse was due to an explosive device detonating next to, or underneath, its supports and/or roadway itself.