I-85 To Reopen By Memorial Day Weekend: GDOT

ATLANTA, GA -- It's music to the ears of tens of thousands of motorists whose lives have been upended by the collapse of the Interstate 85 bridge over Piedmont Road in Atlanta. The Georgia Department of Transportation has said it expects the segment of I-85 closed in midtown Atlanta to open at least three weeks ahead of schedule.

Commissioner Russell McMurry announced the development Monday in a weekly briefing on the rebuild's progress, noting the project should be completed and open before Memorial Day weekend, which begins May 26 and runs through May 29.

“Our goal was to get I-85 back open to the people of Georgia as quickly as we could, and to do so we offered incentives for early completion,” McMurry added in a statement. “If work is able to continue at the rate it’s been going, I have no doubt project contractor C.W. Matthews will be able to meet, if not beat, the May 25 incentive date.”

That's three weeks ahead of the June 15 deadline officials initially gave as the expected date of completion. However, last month, GDOT announced up to $3 million in incentives would be awarded to C.W. Matthews Contracting Company if it was able to deliver the project before the June 15 date.

If completed by May 25, the company will receive an additional $1.5 million. If completed by May 21, they will receive $2 million and an additional $200,000 for each day completed before May 21; up to a maximum of $3.1 million.

Since April 25, concrete on four of the six decks have been poured, with the northbound travel lanes already complete. Once all six of the decks have been in place for three days, the concrete barrier sides can be poured, the grinding and grooving of the roadway surface for enhanced safety can begin, joints can be sealed and striping can be applied on both northbound and southbound sides of the roadway, the agency added.

GDOT announced last week it's expected to cost $13.5 million to demolish the existing damaged portion of the bridge and to build an entirely new structure,

The March 30 fire and collapse not only took out the entire northbound side of the interstate, but heavily damaged the southbound lanes of the highway. As a result, crews need to replace about 350 feet of concrete on both the northbound and southbound side of the interstate.

Three people were arrested and charged in connection to the fire. One suspect, Basil Eleby, was charged with arson and criminal damage to property in the first degree. Sophia Brauer and Barry Thomas, were each charged with criminal trespassing. Eleby was subsequently indicted on those charges, and has since bonded out of the Fulton County Jail.

The federal government has committed to providing $10 million in aid and to easing some federal regulations to expedite the reconstruction.

While the closure remains in place, GDOT said it will begin resurfacing I-85 between the Brookwood Interchange at I-75 and Clairmont Road. For this project, the milling and inlay of two paving layers on the northbound side within the closure and is nearly complete.

Within the southbound closure, three of the five to six lanes have had the top two layers milled and inlayed. The resurfacing work within the rebuild closure has the potential to be completed by the time the I-85 bridge reopens.

Details about the I-85 rebuilding project can be found at www.I85rebuild.org.

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