Cheshire Bridge Road to remain shut down through mid-May
ATLANTA - More construction delays have pushed back the opening of a busy Atlanta traffic corridor. City leaders now say Cheshire Bridge Road will remain shut down until May.
The constant stream of cars down the Lenox Road detour route has turned Sherry Callan’s quiet northeast Atlanta neighborhood into a highway of sorts during rush hour.
"We're really frustrated," she said. "The traffic's horrible."
Callan has lived along Lenox Road for more than two decades, but she says the last seven years have tested her patience. 2017’s Interstate 85 bridge collapse sent drivers onto her street for the first time and more recently not one, but two Cheshire Bride Road closures have drivers detouring into her life again.
"We are cornered here, and we feel like we're just cursed, every six months something happens," she said.
Currently, crews are working to fix the bridge that prompted December's latest closure near Faulkner Road, but delays have pushed back the timeline.
Last month, an Atlanta City Council member said the road would partially reopen in April, but now the Atlanta Department of Transportation says it will be in mid-May with construction continuing until the end of that month.
"We have traffic when we didn't before, and it's because they keep delaying and delaying," said Charissa Kash.
Neighbors say enough is enough, and the city needs to act quicker.
"This is a neighborhood street here, and I mean, we can't even get out or into our driveways," Kash said.
The city says crews are working 24/7 on repairs.
Businesses hurting as second fire closes Cheshire Bridge
It’s been nearly a week since a fire at what officials believe to be a homeless encampment underneath a Cheshire Bridge Road overpass shut down a portion of the roadway. While crews are working to make repairs, some business owners say they’re already feeling the effects of less traffic.
Callan hopes there is not another delay, so she can get back to some peace and says the city needs to address the homeless encampment issue, so this never happens again.
"Over the last three years, we have dealt with this, we ask questions, we get no answers," she said. "What can you do to help us?"
The city says it plans to reopen to traffic on May 14. One of the people FOX 5 talked to said they are hopeful that happens but are not optimistic.
Cheshire Bridge Road fire
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 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.
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.
How to get around Cheshire Bridge Road closure
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