Cheshire Bridge Road remains closed still | List of detours, alternate routes

There is still no timeline for a section of Cheshire Bridge Road in Atlanta to reopen after an overnight fire under a bridge

Drivers have been asked to avoid the busy Atlanta roadway since early Wednesday morning when firefighters arrived at a rage blaze under the Cheshire Bridge Road in between Faulkner Road and Piedmont Road.

While firefighters were able to put out the blaze in a short time, officials told FOX 5 that the bridge appeared to be compromised and not safe to drive over.

This bridge spans over the section of railroad tracks just south of the newly replaced bridge which was destroyed in a massive fire in August 2021.

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Smoke was seen pouring from beneath the newly replaced bridge along Cheshire Bridge Road on Dec. 21, 2023. (FOX 5)

On Thursday, SKYFOX 5 spotted smoke coming from under the newly replaced bridge along Cheshire Bridge Road. Someone could be seen using a bucket to pour water onto it.

Officials have not commented on that incident.

What are the Cheshire Bridge Road detours?

Piedmont Ave NE northbound

  • Continue north past Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
  • Turn right onto Lindbergh Way NE eastbound
  • Lindbergh Dr NE intersects Cheshire Bridge Rd NE

Piedmont Rd NE southbound at Cheshire Bridge Rd NE

  • Continue south past Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
  • Turn left onto E Morningside Dr NE eastbound
  • Continue eastbound as E Morningside Dr NE becomes E Rock Springs Rd NE
  • Turn left onto Johnson Rd NE northbound
  • Turn left onto Lenox Rd NE northbound
  • Lenox Rd NE intersects Cheshire Bridge Rd NE

Piedmont Cir NE eastbound at Cheshire Bridge Rd NE

  • Turn left onto Piedmont Rd NE northbound
  • Turn right onto Lindbergh Way NE eastbound
  • Lindbergh Dr NE intersects Cheshire Bridge Rd NE

Cheshire Bridge Rd NE southbound at Lindbergh Dr NE

  • Turn right onto Lindbergh Dr NE westbound
  • Turn Left onto Piedmont Rd NE southbound
  • Piedmont Rd NE connects to Cheshire Bridge Rd NE

Cheshire Bridge Rd NE southbound at Woodland Ave NE

  • Turn left onto Woodland Ave NE eastbound
  • Turn right onto Lenox Rd NE southbound
  • Turn right onto Johnson Rd NE southbound
  • Turn right onto E Rock Springs Rd NE westbound
  • Continue westbound as E Rock Springs Rd NE becomes E Morningside Dr NE
  • Turn right onto Piedmont Ave NE northbound
  • Piedmont Ave NE connects to Cheshire Bridge Rd NE

Woodland Ave NE westbound

  • Turn right onto Cheshire Bridge Rd NE northbound
  • Turn left onto Lindbergh Dr NE westbound
  • Turn left onto Piedmont Rd NE southbound
  • Piedmont Rd NE connects to Cheshire Bridge Rd NE

Lavista Rd NE westbound

  • Continue west past Cheshire Bridge Rd NE onto Lindbergh Dr NE
  • Turn left onto Piedmont Rd NE southbound
  • Piedmont Rd NE connects to Cheshire Bridge Rd NE

Wellbourne Dr NE northbound

  • Turn left onto Cheshire Bridge Rd NE westbound
  • Turn right onto Piedmont Rd NE northbound
  • Turn right onto Lindbergh Way NE eastbound
  • Lindbergh Dr NE intersects Cheshire Bridge Rd NE

Cheshire Bridge Road reopens 20 months after massive fire

The fire comes just months after the road fully reopened to traffic after a gas fire shut it down for nearly two years.

On Aug. 4, 2021, a gas line under the bridge on the road ruptured, causing a fire that burned for hours. 

When the flames were put out, officials determined the bridge was too weakened to be saved. That set off more than an ordeal that lasted more than a year. Construction has blocked most of this stretch of road for customers, workers, and neighbors for 20 months. On Halloween of 2022, crews managed to reopen one lane in each direction.

With traffic diverted into residential neighborhoods, the impact devastated local businesses that were still reeling from the pandemic. Scott Duke, the owner of the Greek restaurant Taverna Plaka, says they saw business drop by 40%. Duke says that's still not the worst of the economic impact, saying he's heard from other retail spaces that lost nearly 90% of their business.  

Crews are hoping this fire will not have the same impact.