Oh, I-85, no: Atlanta bridge collapse hurts Sweetwater Brewery
As long as we’re not driving, Atlanta could use a drink.
But the I-85 collapse is even messing with that: Sweetwater Brewing Company, whose wildly-popular suds flow from tanks looming by the interstate off Monroe Avenue, is worried how the massive traffic disruption will affect distribution and production.
The company hasn’t seen any production problems “as of yet,” since an unexplained fire caused part of the elevated interstate to collapse Thursday night. But Sweetwater canceled the regular fifteen shipping and receiving tractor-trailers Friday, spokeswoman Tucker Berta Sarkisian said.
The brewery, which has grown in the past 20 years to be one of the country’s largest craft brewers, hopes to get the trucks back running Monday. But the road collapse could lead to new scheduling, forcing a shake-up at the company.
“We’re exceptionally worried about the traffic,” Sarkisian told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I think everyone in Atlanta is buckling down and getting ready for some serious traffic woes.”
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She said all of the employees were able to get to work Friday and expected to open for guests promptly at 4:20 p.m. (a nod to the popular American pale ale dubbed 420). They could’ve been helped getting to the plant by the fact that many metro Atlanta companies staggered opening schedules.
What will happen Monday morning isn’t yet clear.
The Georgia Department of Transportation hasn’t been able to give an estimate on how long the repairs will take. But it will be a “time-consuming event,” because a northbound chunk of the interstate crumbled as the fire raged below, and the southbound side was also damaged.
Sweetwater, which is located at 195 Ottley Drive and produces hundreds of thousands of barrels a year, is less than a mile from the collapse.
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