Overnight inspections and fixes to I-285 in Dunwoody were completed early Tuesday morning and the interstate reopened to traffic more than 12 hours after a tractor-trailer went up in flames during a four-vehicle crash.
But additional work is already scheduled to continue tonight and into Wednesday morning.
Two westbound lanes of the Perimeter will close again at 11 p.m. while authorities recheck the steel beams underneath the Ashford Dunwoody Road bridge that were scorched by the flames, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation. The lanes are expected to reopen around 3 a.m., prior to Wednesday’s morning rush.
The interstate reopened to traffic just before 5 a.m. Tuesday after the fire-damaged westbound lanes were repaved overnight, GDOT said. Work crews also secured utilities on the bridge, inspected core samples of the bridge deck and tested the steel beams.
“Inspectors found no damage to the bridge that would indicate that the structural integrity was compromised,” GDOT spokeswoman Natalie Dale said Tuesday afternoon. “We would not allow traffic on or below the bridge if we were concerned about the structural integrity.”
Further updates will be provided after Tuesday night’s testing, GDOT said. Pending those inspections, GDOT could decide to hire a contractor to complete additional work at a later date.
The hours-long shutdown of I-285 came after a wreck about 3 p.m. Monday that left three people injured and a big rig in flames underneath the Ashford Dunwoody Road overpass, Dunwoody police said.
The eastbound lanes of I-285 reopened more than three hours after the crash. All but one lane on the Ashford Dunwoody Road overpass is now open.
Dale said inspectors were delayed at times Monday by superheated steel and needed to wait for beams in the bridge to cool below 100 degrees.
Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
Overnight, crews installed protective platforms over I-285 West to allow pavement operations ahead of the interstate’s reopening.
The crash caused a spectacle, sending huge plumes of black smoke high above I-285. When officers responded to the scene, Dunwoody police Sgt. Michael Cheek said they found the big rig burning underneath the bridge. Multiple fire engines responded to get the fire under control.
The flames left parts of the bridge blackened and charred.
Investigators believe one vehicle attempted to go around another that was stopped in traffic, and it wrecked into two others, Cheek said. A tractor-trailer then struck a black vehicle, pushing it against the median barrier and flipping another vehicle onto its side, Cheek said.
The truck eventually came to rest under the bridge and caught on fire. The three people who sustained minor injuries were taken to a hospital, Cheek confirmed.
The tractor-trailer appeared entirely destroyed and pipes on the bridge were partially melted, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Crews with Atlanta Gas Light went to the scene to check on the integrity of gas lines, but a spokesperson said the incident did not appear to impact them.
Credit: AJC
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