A bridge on a busy northeast Atlanta road will remain closed indefinitely after it was damaged in a fire fueled by a gas leak, officials said.
The bridge, which allows Cheshire Bridge Road to cross over train tracks, was damaged in an overnight fire Wednesday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The fire intensified after it ruptured a 4-inch gas main, creating a difficult scenario for firefighters as natural gas continued to fuel the blaze. The flames took around 24 hours to extinguish.
“This is a concrete bridge, but still the amount of time the fire has been burning on this bridge has compromised it,” Atlanta fire spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford said at the scene.
The gas line was repaired and service was restored to customers in the area by Friday afternoon, Atlanta Gas Light officials told the AJC. Less than 50 customers were affected by the gas outage, but about 600 lost electric power during the firefighting effort. Power was restored by early Thursday morning.
“Fire damage at the northeast corner of Cheshire Bridge Road bridge has severely compromised the bridge structure, making it unsafe for vehicular traffic,” Atlanta Department of Transportation spokesman Michael Frierson said.
The bridge will remain closed for safety reasons and detour signs will be installed to reroute traffic, Frierson said. No cars, bikes or pedestrians will be allowed on the bridge.
Atlanta DOT officials have not provided a timeline for the road to reopen.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
