A.M. ATL: Ranking infrastructure fiascos
Morning, y’all! Expect temperatures in the upper 80s today, with occasional rain showers.
- City officials say water service should be restored to the Midtown area by 11 a.m. After that, many hours of testing may be necessary before the boil water advisory is lifted. More on all that (and other infrastructure disasters!) momentarily.
Today’s newsletter also includes the latest on a transit referendum in Gwinnett, potential rate hikes for DeKalb water and sewer customers and a hit-making Atlanta music producer accused of sexual assault.
Let’s get to it.
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CALAMITY CITY
If you’ve lived in Atlanta for any significant amount of time, you know this city is predisposed to calamity. It is, unfortunately, part of our collective lives. Especially when it comes to infrastructure.
The recent (and still ongoing) water crisis is the latest example. It also got me thinking: how would I rank such disasters?
For brevity’s sake, I chose to consider just three. But they’re big ones.
Meet your fighters — and then let me know what you think.
Snowmageddon: In January 2014, an incredible confluence of events froze metro Atlanta in place. Quickly changing forecasts, last-minute decisions to dismiss schools early and a general lack of preparedness for winter weather stranded countless motorists in their cars for hours and hours — with only a couple inches of ice and snow involved.
“Saturday Night Live” mocked us mercilessly.
The burning bridge: In March 2017, fire engulfed a 92-foot stretch of I-85 near Piedmont Road. It collapsed and traffic mayhem ensued, though the state managed to rebuild in just six weeks.
Waterpocalypse: As we’re all well aware at this point, big water main breaks in Downtown and Midtown shut down water access for a huge swath of Atlanta for the better part of two days. Many residents are still boiling water.
Even the mayor admitted Tuesday he’s “so ready for this to be over.”
The rankings: You could, admittedly, justify putting these fiascos in any order. But I’m in charge here, and I have thoughts.
- The I-85 collapse was decidedly not good. The state shouldn’t have stored flammable stuff under the interstate (a practice it’s since nixed). It did, however, represent a bit of a freak accident — and the speed with which things got up and running again counts for something.
- Snowmageddon? Also very bad. And dangerous. We sure learned from it though! Various government entities stocked up on brine trucks and other equipment. School now gets canceled if a local meteorologist even dreams of snow.
Water mains, to be fair, break pretty regularly. I live in DeKalb County and have endured eerily similar events.
Still … communication this time around? Abysmal. The mayor left town. The stink may wash off the city before big events (and big employers) come calling, but restaurants, retailers and their workers are out tens of thousands of dollars.
And unlike the other infrastructural calamities, there’s no quick fix here. Shoring up the water system will take political will, billions of dollars and many, many years.
It’s a close race. But I put our recent water woes at No. 1, followed by Snowmageddon and the bridge collapse.
What say you?
Email me at tyler.estep@ajc.com with your thoughts. And keep scrolling for more news.
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BUSES ON THE BALLOT
Gwinnett County commissioners voted to add a local transit referendum — and corresponding 1% sales tax — to November ballots.
- For the third such referendum since 2019, officials are trying a different, MARTA-free approach. This transit plan involves dramatically expanding bus service and other non rail options.
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MORE TOP STORIES
» DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond plans to ask commissioners to approve a hike in water and sewer rates in the coming weeks. Amount of increase TBD.
» A lawsuit filed by a former protégé of The-Dream — the Atlanta-based producer behind megahits like Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” and Justin Bieber’s “Baby” — accuses him of sexual assault and other abuse.
» A former Republican state legislator is running to lead Rockdale’s county commission — and doing it with a “D” next to her name. Consider local Democrats wary.
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INVESTOR CENTRAL
Corporate investors own an estimated 25% of Atlanta’s single-family rentals, according to a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. That’s the most out of 20 major cities reviewed and echoes findings of the AJC’s “American Dream for Rent” series.
» Atlanta City Council approves $17M for affordable housing trust fund
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BORDER ORDER
President Joe Biden rolled out an order that would bar migrants from being granted asylum when U.S. officials determine the Mexican border is overwhelmed.
- The AJC’s Lautaro Grinspan recently detailed one way the border surge plays out in Atlanta.
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MUCH-NEEDED WIN
Max Fried struck out a career-high 13 batters, Ozzie Albies broke things open with a three-run homer and the Braves beat the Red Sox, 8-3. Catcher Sean Murphy left the game after taking a pitch off the elbow but seemingly avoided major injury.
The two teams play today at 1:35 p.m. on Bally Sports South — whose parent company remains “at an impasse” in its dispute with Comcast.
More sports highlights:
- Georgia baseball’s best-of-three NCAA super regional with NC State begins with Games 1 and 2 on Saturday and Sunday. Both will start at noon on ESPNU.
- Falcons “super dad” Kirk Cousins quickly won his teammates over, the AJC’s Ken Sugiura writes.
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COASTAL GLOW UP
The iconic lighthouse on Tybee Island, Georgia’s tallest and oldest, is in the middle of a $1.8 million makeover. But fear not: it will look much the same when the work is done.
“We’re just repairing what needs to be repaired, and we’re going to make sure we get at least another 25 years out of it,” Sarah Jones, executive director of the local historical society, told the AJC.
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MORE TO EXPLORE
» Meet the Georgia judges who will hear Fani Willis appeal
» Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann avoid foreclosure again
» Man who killed ‘water boy’ over $10 gets 30 years
» False alarm about active shooter gives UGA health center brief scare
» Watchdog group slams PDK over changes to noise, environmental study
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ON THIS DATE
June 5, 1937
A few weeks into the round-the-world flight that ultimately claimed her life, pilot Amelia Earhart penned a dispatch for The Atlanta Constitution. From a hotel in Brazil, she wrote of crossing the equator and the Amazon River — and of practical preparations for the journey to Africa.
“That means not only making the plan ready but having shirts laundered,” Earhart wrote. “I am just about on my last one now and have given up hope that my slacks will ever recover.”
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
AJC photographer Miguel Martinez got a sneak peek at the “Mirror Maze: Numbers in Nature” exhibit that opens Saturday at DeKalb County’s Fernbank Museum.
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ONE MORE THING
Before we go, meet Dacula native Will Hinton. He’ll represent the United States at the Paris Olympics — in trap shooting.
“I wanted to invest 100% of myself in something,” he said. “It just happened to be shooting because I love it.”
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Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
About the Author
Tyler Estep hosts the AJC Win Column, Atlanta's new weekly destination for all things sports. He also shepherds the Sports Daily and Braves Report newsletters to your inbox.
