
ATLANTA — As crews worked to clear debris from a major Atlanta interstate span that collapsed in a raging fire, commuters in the Southeast’s largest city braced for the first full workweek without the key link to some of the city’s biggest suburbs.
Officials pledged after Thursday’s collapse of a 350-foot section of Interstate 85 that a replacement bridge would be built as soon as possible.
Crews were working around the clock again Sunday to finish removing tons of scorched debris from the collapsed northbound span and removing the southbound span weakened by the blaze. After that, a new bridge could take months to build.
The fire was started by a man smoking crack under the bridge in an area north of downtown Atlanta where the state of Georgia stores noncombustible, construction materials, authorities said.
It rapidly grew with smoke billowing high above the city’s skyline. It didn’t take long before chunks of concrete weakened by the high heat began flying off the bridge, leaving firefighters to flee for safety. No one was injured.
Basil Eleby was charged with first-degree arson and first-degree property damage. He remains in jail on a $200,000 bond. Two other people with him were charged with criminal trespass, authorities said.
The closed section of I-85 is a key link to Atlanta’s northern and northeast suburbs. It carries about 400,000 vehicles a day in a city with few alternate routes.
Friday’s commute saw major delays as commuters swamped the mass-transit system and other highways.
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