Five days after a massive fire caused part of I-85 to collapse and shut down the interstate in both directions, part of a busy alternate reopened early Tuesday.
Officials reopened one northbound lane and three southbound lanes of Piedmont Road, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
RELATED: Atlanta I-85 collapse: Some MARTA stations run out of parking early
RELATED: How the I-85 closure will affect your commute
RELATED: Warrant: I-85 bridge fire suspect spoke of smoking crack
PHOTOS: Crews demolish parts of damaged I-85
RELATED: 3 in custody in connection with I-85 fire, bridge collapse
The opening, however, didn’t result in traffic relief.
6:45a #85Collapse jamming Piedmont Rd between Buckhead & Midtown & Buf Spring Conn NB. @wsbradio SkyCopter @wsbtv Capt'n Cam #ATLtraffic pic.twitter.com/HNZOo7mVXN
— Mark McKay (@mckayWSB) April 4, 2017
Piedmont Road, Cheshire Bridge Road and the Buford-Spring Connector were still packed hours after the morning commute.
The Buford Spring Connector/nb is open but there are huge delays leaving midtown around the #I85BridgeCollapse. #ATLtraffic pic.twitter.com/vDWt7yq7TT
— Mark Arum (@MarkArum) April 4, 2017
The good news is I-85 is expected to reopen by June 15, the Georgia Department of Transportation said Tuesday at a news conference.
GDOT is using contracting incentives as part of a plan to expedite reconstruction of the interstate.
» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @ajcwsbtraffic on Twitter.
Credit: Bob Andres
Credit: Bob Andres
