Portion of Interstate 85 near Atlanta, Georgia collapses due to fire

A portion of Interstate 85 in Atlanta, Georgia collapsed due to a fire under a bridge on Thursday. The fire, which was ignited by surplus non-combustible plastic materials from a Georgia Department of Transportation construction project, has been contained. Atlanta Fire was dispatched to the fire site at 6:12 p.m. with crews arriving at 6:20 p.m. The cause of the fire is unknown and the FBI has said that there is “no information” to suggest that the collapse is a criminal act of any sort, including terrorism. No casualties have been reported, according to Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. Governor Deal declared a state of emergency for Fulton County. Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed said the collapse was “as serious a transportation crisis as we could have.” According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, 700 feet of I-85 have been compromised and will need to be replaced in both directions. The department also said they currently have no timeline for repair. The U.S. Department of Transportation has allocated $10 million to help fund the beginning stages of repairs to the interstate. MARTA will be offering​ extended public transit service at least through the weekend. GRTA is also offering expanded Xpress bus service that connects to MARTA, and rerouting bus routes that would have taken I-85 onto I-285 and I-75. MARTA’s services are performing “extraordinarily well,” an agency representative said at a press conference Friday. The agency has seen a 25 percent surge in ridership, and an 80 percent increase in Breeze farecard sales. According to GDOT, over 250,000 vehicles drive through that stretch of Interstate 85 daily.

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