On Thursday night, a huge fire which burned the underneath I-85 near Midtown Atlanta caused a section of the interstate to collapse, the officials said. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on late Thursday issued a state of emergency for the Fulton County after the bridge collapses.
The state government agencies will open late and employees are encouraged to telecommute.
The declaration said that the state is mobilizing resources in order to keep traffic disruption to a minimum while the emergency work continues. It also encourages the public to avoid collapse area while the assessments are going on.
Flames burned underneath the interstate and also the black smoke billowed under all sides near the Buford-Spring Connector and Piedmont Road.
The fire started at about 6 p.m., according to the witnesses talking to reporters for WXIA, NBC affiliate in Atlanta.
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Fire department spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford said that they need to bring in heavy equipment to remove the concrete.
He said that the firefighting crews noticed the chunks of concrete beginning to drop on Thursday as they were fighting fire under the bridge and got out of the way just minutes before the bridge collapsed.
Stafford also said the department had closed down the interstate because of the fire, so no cars were on the overpass when the bridge dropped.
Stafford said that a portion of the bridge on I-85 fell at about 7 p.m.
Captain Mark Perry of the Georgia State Patrol also said that the agency does not know what started the fire but terrorism is not suspected in the case.
The Atlanta Police Department issued a traffic alert advising the drivers to find alternate routes around the area for the morning commute and also beyond. Motorists should plan for a very long commute for the foreseeable future, due to the issues on I-85, reported WXIA .
The firefighters have put out the flames by about 7:30 p.m., but collapsed section of the interstate will most likely cause the shutdown for weeks or if possibly months.
Mrudula Duddempudi.
