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About twenty years ago a drunken idiot decided to do a U-turn under the (almost new) James Snow Parkway bridge that goes over the 401, with a flat deck tractor trailer and was struck by a fuel tanker. I think it was three lanes each way, with no Jersey wall at that time. The tanker exploded and the driver died. The flat deck driver survived. The bridge did not fall down but was deemed scrap because of the intensity of the fire and was replaced.
I live north of Atlanta and work a few up the road from where this happened. It turns out that piles of PVC pipes were stored under the bridge. No clue yet as to how the fire started but it seems pretty likely that PVC doesn't self ignite. Nothing from local authorities yet but it seems likely that even parts of the bridge that didn't collapse have likely been weakened and will need to be torn down. It was the northbound span that collapsed but southbound bridge is closed as well. Today is the first commute since the fir so it will likely be a nightmare for those affected. Probably be months before the northbound span will be reopened. Since it happened during last nights commute and traffic is usually bumper to bumper on that stretch of road, it is an absolute miracle that no one was hurt or killed. The Fire Department was actually working under the bridge until pulling out just before it collapsed.
Rand, The story I heard is that the PVC roll's with part of GDOT storage and because it was a state storage APD didn't patrol the area. That portion of the underside of the bridge is a homeless haven. Looks like and accident waiting to happen
I suppose it's possible they will put a temp bridge in that quickly but I really doubt it. The road is 5 or 6 lanes wide at that point and incredibly heavily traveled. Temp bridge would probably never withstand the abuse. The fire is still smoldering underneath over 12 hours later. There is a very real possibility that it could reignite when they lift the collapsed portion off. They actually brought in two Hartsfield Airport crash trucks in to pour foam on it last night to try and cool it off. Pretty interesting to watch.
Rand, Here's a little humor or Atlanta people will understand
Hey...I drive into DC every day. We're used to going over metal plates like that at 70 mph. Heck of a bump and occasionally they shift and a few cars will hit the hole underneath. You will then see them lined up on the side of the beltway, undercarriages wrecked, waiting on a tow.
I feel for you guys in Atlanta. I think that allot of people are going to have a 3 day weekend. Same kinda thing happened on I-95 a few years ago near Baltimore. Tanker truck caught fire under the overpass and brought it down onto the highway.
I suppose it's possible they will put a temp bridge in that quickly but I really doubt it. The road is 5 or 6 lanes wide at that point and incredibly heavily traveled. Temp bridge would probably never withstand the abuse.
Originally Posted by Jamesbo
X 2 Ain't gonna happen
I-5 Skagit River Bridge in Washington, collapsed May 23, 2013, a temporary bridge was in place June 19th, 2013. It was a relatively long span and it was over a river.
Acrow style bridges are specifically made for HS25 rated highway loads. An Acrow bridge for a short span like the Atlanta bridge can be installed in 3 days
I've done this once or twice......
Last edited by allyolds68; Mar 31, 2017 at 06:43 AM.
Thanks, What I know about building bridges wouldn't fill a thimble
Serious question, Do you put the temp bridge to one side? Seem to me if you put it where the permanent bridge was you;d have to move it again to replace the permanent
Since the National media won't mention it, I will. The bridge fell right next to one of Atlanta's "Shoe Shows" [strip club] So IMHO all bets or off on estimated time of completion. Workers have to take breaks ya know
Driving home from work this morning the news said it was fiber optic cables running under the bridge that -somehow- caught fire, that caused all this. Odd.
The latest is that 700 feet of both the north and southbound lanes are going to need to be replaced due to heat damage, They are still not giving out repair timelines but are saying it will be measured in months. Other areas might be able to do it in less time but this IS Atlanta after all.
Thanks, What I know about building bridges wouldn't fill a thimble
Serious question, Do you put the temp bridge to one side? Seem to me if you put it where the permanent bridge was you;d have to move it again to replace the permanent
You put it where the existing bridge is, replace any damaged substructure concrete with traffic overhead, and then replace the superstructure in phases. You offer big early completion bonuses to the contractor and they get it done in half the time the politicians are telling everyone and they all look like heros.
Apparently there is a lot more damaged than the one span that fell. The extent of the substructure damage is what will really drive the schedule. They're probably trucking in Acrow bridge parts from all over the country
Hard to believe fiber optic cable went ablaze on it's own, unless of course the light source they were shooting through them was the sun. I'd go with homeless keeping warm. We see them everywhere up here, especially under bridges. One thing is for certain, people will figure out a way to survive, employed or not. Positive side is maybe it will put some people to work.
So they completely rebuilt the damaged piers and placed new girders and bridge decks and it will open by Monday (maybe sooner). The General Contractor will received a $3.1 million incentive for finishing a month ahead of schedule and about 6 months sooner than the "sky is falling" politicians predicted immediately after the collapse. Money will solve just about anything in the world of heavy civil construction.
The damage was far greater than the single span that collapsed. It appears that they replaced four or five spans and a considerable amount of substructure.
The General Contractor will received a $3.1 million incentive for finishing a month ahead of schedule and about 6 months sooner than the "sky is falling" politicians predicted immediately after the collapse. Money will solve just about anything in the world of heavy civil construction.
That's good that it got fixed so quickly. I guess the contractor figured it was more worthwhile to get the job done ahead of time and get a bonus instead of dragging their feet and requesting more money. Which rarely ever happens with government contracts.
Great! Contractors are in fact in the business of making money. What I don't like is these outrageous estimates that get thrown around because some politician wants an answer to how much something is without giving the estimators time to cost things out. It seems common sense on numbers has gone right out the window. Glad the work is done, you guys do good work down there when it comes to Civil projects. BTW have you ever heard of a rail line being closed for that length of time? Doesn't happen, at upwards of a million dollars revenue per train, it gets fixed pretty fast by throwing "money" at the issue, which can sometimes save money.
BTW have you ever heard of a rail line being closed for that length of time? Doesn't happen, at upwards of a million dollars revenue per train, it gets fixed pretty fast by throwing "money" at the issue, which can sometimes save money.
The order of precedent for interstate commerce goes back to the colonial days. Waterways came first, then railroads, and finally roads. The only way you can close one without their authorization is on an emergency basis. If the RR wanted to be difficult they could have insisted on continual service and the state would have had to relent. My guess is with the political implications of this project the US Secretary of Transportation told the RR to suck it up and they will be taken care of.
