A section of Interstate 85 in Atlanta, Georgia, collapsed due to a large fire that burned for more than an hour on Thursday evening.
The fire was initially reported around 6:30 p.m. About 30 minutes later, the Interstate 85 northbound overpass near Piedmont Road collapsed and fell.
The blaze was started when several large plastic utility conduits stored under the I-85 overpass caught fire. This photo was taken by a passerby who saw the fire burning from underneath the bridge.
JUST IN: A viewer sent us this photo of the fire as it started underneath I-85. It has now caused part of the road to collapse. Live on CH 2 pic.twitter.com/7VjGyAfedR
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) March 30, 2017
Another motorist took this up-close shot of the fire on top of the highway and posted it to Instagram.
Fox-5 news copters captured this aerial footage of the blaze.
No one was hurt in the incident. Officials were able to shut down and clear the highway before the collapse.
Although the collapse occurred in the northbound lanes, the highway will remain closed in a three-mile stretch in both directions. The southbound lanes sustained significant damage from the fire as must be repaired as well. There is no estimated time for reopening.
The closure is expected to cause significant traffic delays on nearby highways, such as I-285, as motorists are forced to use alternate routes.
Georgia DOT said the closure and repairs are “expected to be a time consuming event.”
