Earlier this week, the Georgia Department of Transportation or the GDOT released news about the I-85. According to this, the collapsed portion should be ready and reopened by June 2017, more exactly the 15th.
GDOT Officials Will Be Trying To Finish The Reparations By June 2017
The additional information about the I-85 was released on Tuesday, during a press conference. According to the GDOT officials, they will be using various methods in order to make sure that the highway will be ready by the promised time. They will be trying to expedite the reconstruction as this is one of the main highways of Atlanta, one also situated at its heart. One of the utilized methods will be contracting incentives, for example.
The GDOT officials stated that they have and will continue asking the state marshal as well as the insurance commissioner to carry out another task. They should be revising the practice of storing materials under a bridge.
This revision should come as a future safety measure. It is also directly tied to the current I-85 investigation. This, as well as the reconstruction in itself, are the result of a fire which broke out last Thursday. The event escalated as flames engulfed construction material surplus which had been stacked under the elevated section of the I-85.
Following this event, a section of the interstate collapsed, which resulted in the road being closed. Currently, local authorities are working on repairing and reopening the segment. Demolition work is still in progress, but should allegedly be completed by the end of the week. Following this step, crews will start removing the debris. Then, they will also begin erecting the new columns and caps that sit atop of them.
“We’re in coordination with GDOT and the June 15 date is achievable”. This is according to Dan Garcia, the C.W. Matthews president. They will be leading the repair efforts.
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