'Significant work' needed to repair Cheshire Bridge, ATLDOT says
ATLANTA - A portion of Atlanta's busy Cheshire Bridge Road damaged by a fire may remain closed for quite some time, transportation officials say.
An Atlanta Department of Transportation spokesperson tells FOX 5 that "significant work" is needed to make the bridge safe for traffic.
Drivers have been asked to avoid the busy Atlanta roadway since the morning of Dec. 20, when firefighters arrived at a raging blaze under the bridge between Faulkner Road and Piedmont Road.
While firefighters were able to put out the flames after a short time, officials told FOX 5 that the bridge was 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.
With traffic diverted into residential neighborhoods, many business owners in the area are worried that the long repair times could devastate their businesses in the way the previous fire had done.
Officials say they'll do everything they can to get the road back open as soon as possible and a timeline for the work needed will be announced soon.
"ATLDOT is collaborating with various agencies and partners in a coordinated effort to address this situation," the spokesperson said.
Last week, Atlanta City Councilman Alex Wan told constituents in a newsletter that crews have decided to replace a portion of the bridge and shore up the existing supports instead of rebuilding the entire structure.
"While the initial approach was to get one or two lanes reopened as soon as possible and continue working on the remainder of the bridge to open it to traffic, it has been determined that it is better long-term to complete the entire rehab work at once," Wan wrote.
He estimated the repairs could take up to 10 weeks.
The Department of Transportation said they are monitoring traffic in the area closely and will implement mitigation measures if needed.
With this being the second bridge fire on Cheshire Bridge Road in the last few years, Wan said the city is looking at ways to deal with the problem.