BRIDGE
GDOT moved quickly t
By Lisa Rodriguez-Presley
E
ven before the smoke finally cleared
following the fire under Interstate 85 in
Atlanta on March 30, the staff of the
Georgia Department of Transportation knew
it was a traffic crisis of epic proportions. With both
north and southbound lanes of the roadway damaged
and the collapse of the bridge at Piedmont Road,
more than 240,000 vehicles a day needed alternate
routes to get to and through Atlanta. It was a daunting
challenge, but working with Georgia Emergency
Management & Homeland Security Agency, Georgia
State Patrol, Metro Area Regional Transit Authority,
Georgia Regional Transit Authority and many other
federal, state and local partners, GDOT quickly
developed and implemented a plan.
The agency moved rapidly to reroute traffic,
providing alternate routes for travelers and getting the
word out about teleworking, using public transit like
MARTA or GRTA Express Bus Service and utilizing
flexible work schedules to try and prevent additional
clogging of roadways from the redirected traffic.
“The goal, of course, was to relieve the extreme
congestion on the interstate and arterials as we
worked to quickly rebuild and replace the I-85 bridge
over Piedmont Road,” said Georgia DOT State
Traffic Operations Engineer Andrew Heath. “We
thank businesses and other major employers for
offering commute alternatives to employees and
encouraging others to join this effort.”
Commuters in the metro Atlanta area planned
ahead, and clearly heeded those warnings.
Georgia DOT’s traffic operations engineers are
continually conducting analysis of the traffic
patterns across the Metro area and though there
was some increase in traffic congestion in certain
areas and along particular detour routes, the plan
appeared to be successful as commuters chose
to utilize flex hours, telework or take alternative
commute options to work. Additionally, GDOT
traffic operations adjusted the timing of the traffic
signals on alternate routes to help ensure traffic
flowed as smoothly as possible. With the traffic
plan fully implemented, GDOT could focus their
efforts on the cleanup and rebuilding of the bridge.
Almost as soon as the fire was completely
extinguished, the process of clearing the debris
to enable repair work and developing plans
for replacing the bridge and damaged sections
of roadway began. Crews worked nonstop to
remove all of the damaged concrete and structure