sweetpeasmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,832 
|
Post by sweetpeasmom on Mar 31, 2017 1:32:43 GMT
You might want to make an alternate route. There was a fire under part of I85 near the downtown area. That part collapsed. So that portion is completely impassable. All alternate routes will be even crazier. I85 Collapse |
|
|
|
Post by farmdpea on Mar 31, 2017 1:36:20 GMT
My sister says she's already dreading tomorrow morning's commute.
|
|
|
|
Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Mar 31, 2017 1:39:25 GMT
Both my parents grew up in and around Atlanta so I still have a lot of family there. Plus, if you live in the south, you have to go through it by road or plane to many other destinations.
I dread this because it's a bad traffic area already that will be made perfectly awful by this latest development.
I'll be going through there by car in a few days. Ugh.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 20:01:52 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2017 1:54:15 GMT
Oh crud. The band is leaving tomorrow to go to Orlando. Is I-85 a route to Florida?
|
|
|
|
Post by beachbum on Mar 31, 2017 2:08:08 GMT
Oh crud. The band is leaving tomorrow to go to Orlando. Is I-85 a route to Florida? They'll probably be on I-75, that is always a nightmare, always busy, but with I-85 closed will get a lot of that traffic now. Nightmare x2. Hope everyone has packed their extra patience. I hate driving through Atlanta, can you tell? Worst part of driving from FL to TN. SaveSave |
|
|
|
Post by nepean on Mar 31, 2017 2:08:18 GMT
Oh crud. The band is leaving tomorrow to go to Orlando. Is I-85 a route to Florida? If you are coming down from MI, then you would most likely be on I75 NOT I85. Traffic will be bad, but you will have a road! |
|
|
|
Post by ntsf on Mar 31, 2017 2:17:02 GMT
this happened on a major freeway here.. a local contractor replaced it in something like 2 weeks.. earned a huge bonus.. even made a documentary about how they did it.. hope this gets replaced soon
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 20:01:52 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2017 2:24:27 GMT
We travel this way to visit family in South Carolina. It's always seemed easier to go through downtown via I-85 but I guess we'll be taking 285 unless they get this repaired before May. Here are some pictures of the scene. Looks like it's right beside what we call the Marta parking lot. |
|
|
|
Post by donna on Mar 31, 2017 9:18:01 GMT
This is going to be a major headache for the entire city. If businesses were smart they would give people Friday off so that people would have the weekend to figure out alternate routes.
|
|
|
|
Post by disneypal on Mar 31, 2017 10:20:47 GMT
Oh crud. The band is leaving tomorrow to go to Orlando. Is I-85 a route to Florida? It depends on where you live....if 85 is on their path, they will just have to take the bypass (285) to get around it and then get on 75 |
|
|
|
Post by disneypal on Mar 31, 2017 10:23:48 GMT
This is going to be a major headache for the entire city. If businesses were smart they would give people Friday off so that people would have the weekend to figure out alternate routes. The governor said state employees should come in at 10:00 or telecommute if possible - this is going to be a major problem for months! |
|
|
|
Post by donna on Mar 31, 2017 10:40:17 GMT
disneypal it might not take months. Remember a few years ago another fire damaged the interstate at 285 and 400, I think, and made a huge hole in the bridge. It didn't take months to fix that.
|
|
|
|
Post by *KAS* on Mar 31, 2017 11:19:35 GMT
this happened on a major freeway here.. a local contractor replaced it in something like 2 weeks.. earned a huge bonus.. even made a documentary about how they did it.. hope this gets replaced soon I don't even see how that's possible. They said on the news last night that it takes 26 days for the concrete to fully set. But heck, they still have to determine if our southbound side (that didn't collapse) is structurally secure before they can even start making a plan. They said the closest comparison was in Birmingham 10+ days ago, and that took 34 days. Not sure how many lanes that was. This area was about 6 lanes wide. |
|
|
|
Post by *KAS* on Mar 31, 2017 11:25:16 GMT
For those that normally travel through this way and plan to take 285, just keep in mind that it's under construction near 75 and opening day for the Braves at their new stadium (at 285/75) is in 14 days. Plan accordingly.😂
Never a good feeling when I have to call all of my staff to make sure they are safe since they all live down there. Some of their pictures from their porches are incredible. But incredibly thankful for our first responders - no loss of life or injuries is AMAZING! Especially thankful to the captain who was alert about the bridge structure and turned cars around and got them off the bridge minutes before it collapsed.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 20:01:52 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2017 11:33:30 GMT
Hoping this won't effect us when we travel to Hilton Head in June. We're in MI and take 75 down to 16 and over to Savannah/Hilton Head. Even if not directly, we'll have more traffic on our route I would think.
Obviously it's much worse for those that live in the area. I can't imagine as Atlanta traffic is already crazy!
|
|
sweetpeasmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,832
|
Post by sweetpeasmom on Mar 31, 2017 11:37:36 GMT
This is going to be a major headache for the entire city. If businesses were smart they would give people Friday off so that people would have the weekend to figure out alternate routes. State employees are on a delay. DeKalb schools closed. I know several friends who are on a delay (not state employees). Also, spring break starts today for some and then all of next week. It's going to be the following week where it's really going to be a true indication of the issue. Save |
|
|
|
Post by pastlifepea on Mar 31, 2017 12:13:34 GMT
OMG...Atlanta is already traffic Armageddon every time I have had to drive through. From the Watermelon 500 to the fact that there seems to be an accident every single time. Involving a semi. And fire. To anyone up North that assumes that all Southerners drive slowly, go ahead and drive through the Atlanta area. It might change your mind. I hope they get things back to "Atlanta normal" soon.
|
|
flute4peace
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,757
Jul 3, 2014 14:38:35 GMT
|
Post by flute4peace on Mar 31, 2017 12:15:04 GMT
Oh wow that's not good.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 20:01:52 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2017 12:20:47 GMT
OMG...Atlanta is already traffic Armageddon every time I have had to drive through. From the Watermelon 500 to the fact that there seems to be an accident every single time. Involving a semi. And fire. To anyone up North that assumes that all Southerners drive slowly, go ahead and drive through the Atlanta area. It might change your mind. I hope they get things back to "Atlanta normal" soon. I'm in MI and we've driven through Atlanta a number of times to get to Florida or Hilton Head. My dh does the driving and I sit in the passenger seat and hold on for dear life. I hate it. SO many lanes, it's crazy. However we try to go through on a Saturday or Sunday to avoid the commuters. Last year we stopped north of Atlanta on Friday afternoon and then continued on our way on Sat morning. We'll do the same this year. Well, if we can get through! Dh prefers to avoid the bypass as he swears that just takes longer (vs 75 on a Sat). |
|
|
|
Post by *KAS* on Mar 31, 2017 12:23:50 GMT
Breaking (bad) news: WSB just broke that GDOT confirmed that 85 South was also compromised due to the fire (heat) and will have to be replaced. So umm, all 12-ish lanes. This won't happen quickly.  |
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 20:01:52 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2017 12:37:02 GMT
Breaking (bad) news: WSB just broke that GDOT confirmed that 85 South was also compromised due to the fire (heat) and will have to be replaced. So umm, all 12-ish lanes. This won't happen quickly. Ugh, that's what I was afraid of! Save |
|
|
|
Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Mar 31, 2017 12:48:00 GMT
My husband is a civil engineer with the DOT and supervises read and bridge building projects. I asked him this morning, how many DOT directors did he think were ordering investigations of what they had stored under bridges in their states?
Yikes. What a mess.
|
|
|
|
Post by *KAS* on Mar 31, 2017 13:03:02 GMT
My husband is a civil engineer with the DOT and supervises read and bridge building projects. I asked him this morning, how many DOT directors did he think were ordering investigations of what they had stored under bridges in their states? Yikes. What a mess. Yeah for sure. DOT so today that it was PVC piping which normally should not be flmable like this. So they said they are interested in the investigation. But I am sure there are 49 other states looking at their own interstates with an eagle eye after last night. |
|
|
|
Post by ktdoesntscrap on Mar 31, 2017 13:03:05 GMT
But incredibly thankful for our first responders - no loss of life or injuries is AMAZING! Especially thankful to the captain who was alert about the bridge structure and turned cars around and got them off the bridge minutes before it collapsed. I was so surprised ! Thankful everyone is okay. |
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 20:01:52 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2017 13:03:22 GMT
How the hell does a fire take down an interstate bridge?!?!?
|
|
|
|
Post by *KAS* on Mar 31, 2017 13:04:35 GMT
My husband is a civil engineer with the DOT and supervises read and bridge building projects. I asked him this morning, how many DOT directors did he think were ordering investigations of what they had stored under bridges in their states? Yikes. What a mess. Yeah for sure. DOT said today that it was PVC piping which normally should not be flmable like this. So they said they are interested in the investigation. But you could see rolls of wire and other stuff in google earth photos. I am sure there are 49 other states looking at their own interstates with an eagle eye after last night. |
|
|
|
Post by *KAS* on Mar 31, 2017 13:05:01 GMT
How the hell does a fire take down an interstate bridge?!?!? Compromise the integrity of the steel until it bent and collapsed. |
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 20:01:52 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2017 13:09:13 GMT
How the hell does a fire take down an interstate bridge?!?!? Compromise the integrity of the steel until it bent and collapsed. Must have been one mother of a fire. |
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 20:01:52 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2017 13:09:23 GMT
Breaking (bad) news: WSB just broke that GDOT confirmed that 85 South was also compromised due to the fire (heat) and will have to be replaced. So umm, all 12-ish lanes. This won't happen quickly. I hadn't heard that yet, but honestly, with the heat of that fire, I can't see how the Southbound lanes would've NOT been compromised. Several in our office "reverse commute", living in the city and driving north to the office. Fortunately, our office is closed on Fridays, so they've got several days to let the dust settle and plan new routes accordingly. |
|
|
|
Post by Meri-Lyn on Mar 31, 2017 13:14:29 GMT
Dang! I'm planning on coming up the end of June, it may not be ready yet. But that's a nightmare for everyone who lives there. The highways are already a mess, this is just going be 100x worse. Good Luck. Thank goodness no one was hurt or worse.
|
|
