Work to rebuild and reopen a stretch of Cheshire Bridge Road started this week, three months after it closed due to a massive fire under an overpass, officials confirmed.
Atlanta Department of Transportation spokesperson Michael Frierson said Thursday that contractors are expected to work a “seven-day-a-week, 24-hour-a-day schedule” to quickly repair the structural damage to the bridge over the railroad tracks near Faulkner Road.
The bridge has been closed since Dec. 20 when a fire broke out under the bridge during one of the coldest nights of the season. It’s the second time in two years that the bridge was shut down, leaving motorists to navigate detours and local business owners facing more financial losses.
During the construction, Cheshire Bridge Road between Faulkner Road and Wellbourne Drive will remain closed — at least partially. Frierson said that two lanes will reopen by April 1 and construction is expected to be completed by May 1.
“Safety has remained our primary focus as we have worked to inspect and evaluate the damage and develop a plan for repairing and reopening the bridge for public use,” ATLDOT Commissioner Solomon Caviness said.
“The work has been deliberate and comprehensive,” he added. “We are confident that in collaborating with our utility, design, and engineering partners and the community, the construction will be completed in the safest, most efficient manner possible.”
ATLDOT did not say why it took several months for work to begin. However, while fire officials have not said if they’ve determined what sparked the blaze, city officials and advocates suspected it was the unintentional result of unhoused Atlantans trying to keep warm. And the city announced plans in January to clear out homeless encampments under bridges susceptible to fire.
Credit: Bill Torpy
Credit: Bill Torpy
That stretch of Cheshire Bridge Road is no stranger to closures. It had been open for just over a year after a fire broke out under another bridge in 2021. That bridge had to be demolished and rebuilt and is about a quarter-mile from the December fire.
And in November 2023, a nearby apartment complex fire caused several closures that continue to affect travel in the area. Parts of Lindbergh Drive remain closed at the intersection of Cheshire Bridge Road.
Frierson said that weather conditions, including heavy rain, could impact the work being done to the Cheshire Bridge Road overpass, which could delay the completion.
