Bridge Collapse Creates Travel Woes in Atlanta

A fire has caused a bridge to collapse along Atlanta’s I-85 highway, a main artery through the city. A state of emergency has been declared by Governor Nathan Deal. 

According to NBC News, a fire was reported under the bridge around 6:21 p.m. By 7 p.m., the blaze had brought down the overpass where I-85 meets State Highway 400. 

The collapse created a traffic nightmare with commuters stranded and turned back off of the highway. 

I-85 Bridge Collapse Atlanta pic.twitter.com/6BtFhWtPqq

— Brent Fidler (@brentfidler) March 30, 2017

There have been no injuries reported, but traffic has been snarled ever since and officials are calling the situation a “crisis.” According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Governor Nathan Deal has declared a state of emergency after the fire was put out. 

Currently, there is no estimate on how long it will take to repair and rebuild the collapsed bridge. 

Atlanta’s mayor, Kasim Reed, has been in contact with the FBI, and officials were working to quickly assess the situation throughout the night. 

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“This is as serious a transportation crisis as we could have. The governor has been leading and we have been acting on it,” Reed said at a press conference. “Our primary concern, first and most important, is that no one has lost their life. And as we stand here right now, we think that’s the situation.”

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but the FBI has found no links to terrorism.