PHOTOS: Atlanta I-85 bridge collapse aftermath and traffic

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PHOTOS: Dealing with the aftermath of the I-85 collapse

A massive fire beneath the elevated span of I-85 north near Piedmont Road caused a section of the highway to collapse during evening rush hour on March 30.

Crews demolish damaged sections of I-85 bridge structures on Saturday, April 1, 2017. Necessary work is continuing on the damaged sections of I-85 bridge structures. This includes demolition of the existing failed and damaged structures - which includes two 350-foot sections of interstate, one section each in both the northbound and southbound lanes, totaling approximately 700 feet - as well as all reconstruction activities. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Crews demolish damaged sections of I-85 bridge structures on Saturday, April 1, 2017. With I-85 closed for an indefinite amount of time, Atlanta is headed for a transportation nightmare. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Looking towards the Buford-Spring Connector, traffic continues to pile up on the Buford Spring Connector and roads surrounding it in the Piedmont Heights and Lindbergh areas in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 1, 2017. (HENRY TAYLOR / HENRY.TAYLOR@AJC.COM)

Looking towards Monroe Drive, traffic continues to pile up on the Buford Spring Connector and roads surrounding it in the Piedmont Heights and Lindbergh areas in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 1, 2017. With I-85 closed for an indefinite amount of time, Atlanta is headed for a transportation nightmare, with commuters having to find alternative routes in and out of Atlanta. (HENRY TAYLOR / HENRY.TAYLOR@AJC.COM)

Looking towards the collapse and the Buford-Spring Connector, traffic continues to pile up on the Buford Spring Connector and roads surrounding it in the Piedmont Heights and Lindbergh areas in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 1, 2017. Basil Eleby was charged with arson in connection with the fire that destroyed a segment of bridge on I-85 NB. (HENRY TAYLOR / HENRY.TAYLOR@AJC.COM)

April 1, 2017, Atlanta, Georgia - Looking towards the Buford-Spring Connector, traffic continues to pile up on the Buford Spring Connector and roads surrounding it in the Piedmont Heights and Lindbergh areas in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 1, 2017. Basil Eleby was charged with arson in connection with the fire that destroyed a segment of bridge on I-85 NB. With I-85 closed for an indefinite amount of time, Atlanta is headed for a transportation nightmare, with commuters having to find alternative routes in and out of Atlanta. In a stranger twist, some Atlantans have turned the collapse into a sight-seeing venture, driving down Piedmont Road to have a look at the police and constructions crews at work or down past the barrels to the site itself to look at the rubble. (HENRY TAYLOR / HENRY.TAYLOR@AJC.COM)

April 1, 2017 Atlanta - Crews demolish a damaged section of I-85 bridge structures on Saturday, April 1, 2017. Necessary work is continuing on the damaged sections of I-85 bridge structures. This includes demolition of the existing failed and damaged structures - which includes two 350-foot sections of interstate, one section each in both the northbound and southbound lanes, totaling approximately 700 feet - as well as all reconstruction activities. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

April 1, 2017 Atlanta - Traffic stacks up on Piedmont Road heading towards I-85 southbound near the site of the bridge collapse on Saturday, April 1, 2017. Necessary work is continuing on the damaged sections of I-85 bridge structures. This includes demolition of the existing failed and damaged structures - which includes two 350-foot sections of interstate, one section each in both the northbound and southbound lanes, totaling approximately 700 feet - as well as all reconstruction activities. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

April 1, 2017 Atlanta - Crews work on the site of the bridge collapse on Saturday, April, 2017. Approximately six sections and 700 feet of the roadway â 350 feet northbound and 350 feet southbound â will be removed and replaced, including support columns, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation. The work is expected to take months. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

April 1, 2017 Atlanta - Crews demolish a damaged section of I-85 bridge structures on Saturday, April, 2017. Necessary work is continuing on the damaged sections of I-85 bridge structures. This includes demolition of the existing failed and damaged structures - which includes two 350-foot sections of interstate, one section each in both the northbound and southbound lanes, totaling approximately 700 feet - as well as all reconstruction activities. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

April 1, 2017 Atlanta - Motorists use the Buford-Spring Connector to bypass the interstate collapse and then return to I-85 North on Saturday, April, 2017. After the collapse, people traveling northbound on the Downtown Connector were funneled onto I-75 North, with no option to take I-85 North at the split. About 10 a.m., however, transportation officials began allowing northbound traffic on the Connector to proceed north on I-85 to the next exit: the Buford-Spring Connector, Exit 86 (Ga. 13). HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

April 1, 2017, Atlanta, Georgia - Judge James Altman beckons for Basil Eleby, the man charged with setting the fire underneath I-85 NB on Thursday night, to come out to hear his charges at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 1, 2017. Eleby received two charges of $100,000 each amounting to total bail of $200,000 for Criminal Damage 1st Degree and Arson 1st Degree after setting a fire underneath a bridge on I-85 NB that would eventually cause a section of the bridge on I-85 to be closed off indefinitely. (HENRY TAYLOR / HENRY.TAYLOR@AJC.COM)

April 1, 2017, Atlanta, Georgia - Basil Eleby is escorted by his public defender and two Fulton County Sheriff's office officers into the court room of presiding Judge James Altman at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 1, 2017. Eleby received two charges of $100,000 each amounting to total bail of $200,000 for Criminal Damage 1st Degree and Arson 1st Degree after setting a fire underneath a bridge on I-85 NB that would eventually cause a section of the bridge on I-85 to be closed off indefinitely. (HENRY TAYLOR / HENRY.TAYLOR@AJC.COM)

April 1, 2017, Atlanta, Georgia - Presiding Judge James Altman addresses Basil Eleby at his first appearance hearing at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 1, 2017. Basil Eleby received charges for Criminal Damage 1st Degree and Arson 1st Degree and a bail of $200,000, although Judge Altman noted that he could charge for the total damage to the structure, which would amount to millions of dollars, and even if he had just gone with one dollar per driver it would have amounted to several million dollars. (HENRY TAYLOR / HENRY.TAYLOR@AJC.COM)

April 1, 2017, Atlanta, Georgia - Basil Eleby and his public defender speak to one another behind an open folder at Eleby's first hearing appearance at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 1, 2017. Eleby received two charges of $100,000 each amounting to total bail of $200,000 for Criminal Damage 1st Degree and Arson 1st Degree after setting a fire underneath a bridge on I-85 NB that would eventually cause a section of the bridge on I-85 to be closed off indefinitely. (HENRY TAYLOR / HENRY.TAYLOR@AJC.COM)

April 1, 2017, Atlanta, Georgia - Basil Eleby's public defender uses a green folder to mask his face from media during his first hearing appearance at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 1, 2017. Eleby received two charges of $100,000 each amounting to total bail of $200,000 for Criminal Damage 1st Degree and Arson 1st Degree after setting a fire underneath a bridge on I-85 NB that would eventually cause a section of the bridge on I-85 to be closed off indefinitely. (HENRY TAYLOR / HENRY.TAYLOR@AJC.COM)

April 1, 2017, Atlanta, Georgia - The warrant for arrest of Basil Eleby. Still taken after the first court appearance at Fulton County Jail because physical copies were not distributed in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 1, 2017. (HENRY TAYLOR / HENRY.TAYLOR@AJC.COM)

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Crews demolish damaged sections of I-85 bridge structures on Saturday, April 1, 2017. Necessary work is continuing on the damaged sections of I-85 bridge structures. This includes demolition of the existing failed and damaged structures - which includes two 350-foot sections of interstate, one section each in both the northbound and southbound lanes, totaling approximately 700 feet - as well as all reconstruction activities. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

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