ATLANTA (WSB/WTNH) – Three people are in custody in connection with a fire on I-85 that caused a bridge to collapse, according to the state fire marshal’s office.

Basil Eleby has been charged with first degree criminal damage to property and two others have been charged with criminal trespass.

On Thursday evening, an elevated section of northbound Interstate 85 in Atlanta collapsed. Officials say it can take anywhere from several weeks to several months to repair the damage. </s> ATLANTA – Three people are in custody after a fire that led to the Interstate 85 bridge collapse in Atlanta, according to several media outlets.

Citing the state fire marshal's office, Atlanta's WSB-TV reports that one man has been charged with criminal damage to property and two others with criminal trespass.

Drivers in one of the nation’s most congested cities faced a jarring new reality Friday as they were forced to game out how to get around a collapsed portion of Atlanta’s Interstate 85 — one of the Southeast’s major north-south arteries.

A mysterious fire collapsed part of I-85 northbound Thursday evening — injuring no one — and also damaged the southbound portion, forcing the closure of all five lanes in each direction for the foreseeable future.

The shutdown likely sets the city up for traffic headaches for months after creating navigation hell Thursday with jams that extended five miles or more and stranded motorists for hours.

The closure comes at a sensitive time for a city accustomed to gridlock — with hordes of spring break vacationers poised to drive though the regional hub and the Atlanta Braves set to play a preseason game Friday night in their new stadium northwest of the city.

“I think it’s as serious a transportation crisis as we could have,” Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said Thursday evening. </s> 0 BRIDGE COLLAPSE: Part of Piedmont Road reopened

ATLANTA - Crews are working around clock to clean up and start repairing Interstate 85 after a massive fire that caused a bridge overpass to collapse, closing the interstate in both directions indefinitely.

Part of Piedmont Road reopened Monday early afternoon.

Progress!!! Part of Piedmont Road at I85, just reopened to traffic! My live report, next at noon. @wsbtv @WSBTraffic @MarkArum pic.twitter.com/4nrxfXDgKl — Audrey Washington (@AudreyWSBTV) April 3, 2017

The Georgia Department of Transportation said at least three sections northbound and three sections southbound of I-85 will have to be totally replaced, which includes the section that collapsed.

Officials said it will take months to complete the repairs.

“Somebody just made a really bad mistake,” John Daley told Channel 2's Nicole Carr.

Construction crews removed slabs of what used to be the interstate in the first step of restoration over the weekend.

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Three people arrested in connection with fire that led to I-85 bridge collapse

One man charged with arson; given $200,000 bond

GDOT says repairs to I-85 will take months

"Construction is going to take some time. We really hope that the public will have some patience because it's a big project,” GDOT primary engineer Bill DuVall said in video update released on social media Sunday.

“Well looks like it's going to take a long time to get back together. I just wonder how all the traffic is going to get through,” Daley told Carr.

Carr spoke with Doug Neal Sunday night, who said it was easier to take his bike where he needed to go.

"It's going to be a little inconvenient, but I just try to look at where I needed to go today and I said, 'You know what? Where I need to go I could get better on my bike,'" Neal told Carr.

Gov. Nathan Deal has secured $10 million from the federal government to help with the repairs.

Basil Eleby, 40, has been charged with arson in connection with the fire.

Statements from the couple he was with, now charged with only trespassing, say they were with Eleby to smoke crack and at one point watched Eleby "place a chair on top of a shopping cart, reach under the shopping cart and ignite it."

Eleby tried to waive the hearing and to get no bond.

The judge denied the request, and then said this is about trying to come up with a fair bond that would be in line with restitution for the damage done.

"But in this case, that would amount to a couple hundred million dollars,” Judge James Altman said. “My second inclination, on thinking about it, some kind of compensation to the victims is appropriate, but again, even at a dollar a person, that would amount to several million dollars."

[DOWNLOAD the WSB-TV news app for breaking alerts on this story]

The judge issued a total of $200,000 bond for Eleby; $100,000 for arson and $100,000 for criminal damage to property.

Eleby’s preliminary hearing is set for April 14.

Eleby has been arrested several times before. He has been booked on charges including possession of marijuana and cocaine, criminal trespass, simple battery, and simple assault dating back to 1995.

[Officials say I-85 bridge repairs will take months]

The massive blaze started at about 6:15 p.m. Thursday beneath I-85 northbound near Piedmont Road.

Channel 2's Nefertiti Jaquez tracked down the two officers who first spotted the fire.

"We saw smoke coming from out underneath the bridge. As we got closer, that's when we noticed the spool of conduit fire," Atlanta police Officer Ryan Severance said.

"It just kept getting worse and worse and worse," Officer Jean Hernandez said.

No one was injured in the fire.

"My main worry was the firefighters, because we know a lot of them and they were under there," Severance said.

The Georgia Department of Transportation said it was storing noncombustible, high-density plastic pipe underneath the bridge.

[PHOTOS: I-85 bridge collapse aftermath]

© 2019 Cox Media Group. </s> Three people were arrested Friday in connection with a raging fire that collapsed an elevated portion of Interstate 85 in Atlanta and shut down the heavily traveled route through the heart of the city.

Deputy Insurance Commissioner Jay Florence said Basil Eleby faces a charge of criminal damage to property, and Sophia Bruner and Barry Thomas each were charged with criminal trespass.

"We believe they were together when the fire was set and Eleby is the one who set the fire," Florence told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Florence would not discuss how the fire was started or why, saying those details would be released as the investigation progresses.

Traffic was bumper to bumper on streets near the shut-down portion of the interstate as drivers were forced to take a detour the day after the blaze.

The collapse took place a few miles north of downtown, and the effects could fall most heavily on commuters from Atlanta's densely populated northern suburbs. They will have to find other routes to work or ride mass transit.

Connie Bailey-Blake, of Dacula, 37 miles northeast of Atlanta, waited for a MARTA commuter train to reach her job downtown. She typically drives, often by way of the interstate.

"I'm supposed to be at work at 9 a.m. and it's 9:15 a.m.," Bailey-Blake said. "The first few days are going to be difficult. This will be my new life."

Amelia Ford picked a new route to work by car and said it took her 45 minutes to travel 3 miles from her Atlanta home to the nearest open on-ramp to the interstate.

Georgia Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said 350 feet of highway will need to be replaced in both directions on I-85, which carries about 400,000 cars a day through the city and is one of the South's most important north-south routes.

He said repairs will take months but declined to be more specific.

The collapse effectively "puts a cork in the bottle," Georgia State Patrol Commissioner Mark McDonough said.

The fire broke out Thursday afternoon in an area used to store state-owned construction materials and equipment, sending flames and smoke high into the air. Fire authorities said they had not determined how the blaze started.

McMurry said his department stored coils of plastic conduit used in fiber optic networks beneath the span but insisted they were noncombustible.

No injuries were reported from the fire and collapse. Firefighters shut down the section of highway before it gave way, and made it to safety themselves after hearing the road cracking and seeing concrete go flying, authorities said.

In the meantime, MARTA increased rail service and said additional staff would be on hand to help passengers figure out how to get where they're going.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao promptly released $10 million for the initial repair work, and the Federal Highway Administration promised more in emergency repair funds. Officials gave no estimate of how much the job would cost.

Built in 1953 and renovated in 1985, the span scored high in its most recent inspection, receiving a rating of 94.6 out of 100 in 2015, said Natalie Dale, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Transportation Department.

Lauren Stewart, director of the Structural Engineering and Materials Laboratory at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, said intense heat can compromise even steel-reinforced concrete.

"With fires, especially fires that burn for long periods and with high heat, you can see structures, anything from buildings to bridges, can have their material properties degrade," Stewart said.

It's happened before. In 1996, a fire in a big pile of tires beneath I-95 in Philadelphia left a span too weak to handle cars, forcing authorities to shut down 4 miles of the busy East Coast route for repairs.

Andy Herrmann, a retired partner with the New York-based engineering firm Hardesty & Hanover, said there have also been a few instances of gasoline trucks crashing and causing intense heat that damaged overpasses.

In one example, a tanker carrying 8,600 gallons (32,550 liters) of gasoline ignited after crashing into a guardrail on an interchange connecting Interstate 80 to Interstate 880 in Oakland, California. Heat from the flames exceeded 2,750 degrees and caused the steel beams holding up the overpass to buckle and bolts holding the structure together to melt, officials said at the time.

Herrmann said concrete will undergo severe cracking at about 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit and start disintegrating at higher temperatures. Building roads to withstand such heat would be prohibitively expensive, he said.

"We have limited dollars for maintaining our bridges," Herrmann said. "This is such a rare thing to occur."

AP writers Alex Sanz in Atlanta; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; and Kevin McGill and Rebecca Santana in New Orleans contributed to this report. </s> ATLANTA (AP) — Three people were arrested Friday in connection with a raging fire that collapsed an elevated portion of Interstate 85 in Atlanta and shut down the heavily traveled route through the heart of the city.

Deputy Insurance Commissioner Jay Florence said Basil Eleby faces a charge of criminal damage to property, and Sophia Bruner and Barry Thomas each were charged with criminal trespass.

“We believe they were together when the fire was set and Eleby is the one who set the fire,” Florence told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Florence would not discuss how the fire was started or why, saying those details would be released as the investigation progresses.

Traffic was bumper to bumper on streets near the shut-down portion of the interstate as drivers were forced to take a detour the day after the blaze.

The collapse took place a few miles north of downtown, and the effects could fall most heavily on commuters from Atlanta’s densely populated northern suburbs. They will have to find other routes to work or ride mass transit.

Connie Bailey-Blake, of Dacula, 37 miles northeast of Atlanta, waited for a MARTA commuter train to reach her job downtown. She typically drives, often by way of the interstate.

“I’m supposed to be at work at 9 a.m. and it’s 9:15 a.m.,” Bailey-Blake said. “The first few days are going to be difficult. This will be my new life.”

Amelia Ford picked a new route to work by car and said it took her 45 minutes to travel 3 miles from her Atlanta home to the nearest open on-ramp to the interstate.

Georgia Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said 350 feet of highway will need to be replaced in both directions on I-85, which carries about 400,000 cars a day through the city and is one of the South’s most important north-south routes.

He said repairs will take months but declined to be more specific.

The collapse effectively “puts a cork in the bottle,” Georgia State Patrol Commissioner Mark McDonough said.

The fire broke out Thursday afternoon in an area used to store state-owned construction materials and equipment, sending flames and smoke high into the air. Fire authorities said they had not determined how the blaze started.

McMurry said his department stored coils of plastic conduit used in fiber optic networks beneath the span but insisted they were noncombustible.

No injuries were reported from the fire and collapse. Firefighters shut down the section of highway before it gave way, and made it to safety themselves after hearing the road cracking and seeing concrete go flying, authorities said.

In the meantime, MARTA increased rail service and said additional staff would be on hand to help passengers figure out how to get where they’re going.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao promptly released $10 million for the initial repair work, and the Federal Highway Administration promised more in emergency repair funds. Officials gave no estimate of how much the job would cost.

Built in 1953 and renovated in 1985, the span scored high in its most recent inspection, receiving a rating of 94.6 out of 100 in 2015, said Natalie Dale, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Transportation Department.

Lauren Stewart, director of the Structural Engineering and Materials Laboratory at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, said intense heat can compromise even steel-reinforced concrete.

“With fires, especially fires that burn for long periods and with high heat, you can see structures, anything from buildings to bridges, can have their material properties degrade,” Stewart said.

It’s happened before. In 1996, a fire in a big pile of tires beneath I-95 in Philadelphia left a span too weak to handle cars, forcing authorities to shut down 4 miles of the busy East Coast route for repairs.

Andy Herrmann, a retired partner with the New York-based engineering firm Hardesty & Hanover, said there have also been a few instances of gasoline trucks crashing and causing intense heat that damaged overpasses.

In one example, a tanker carrying 8,600 gallons (32,550 liters) of gasoline ignited after crashing into a guardrail on an interchange connecting Interstate 80 to Interstate 880 in Oakland, California. Heat from the flames exceeded 2,750 degrees and caused the steel beams holding up the overpass to buckle and bolts holding the structure together to melt, officials said at the time.

Herrmann said concrete will undergo severe cracking at about 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit and start disintegrating at higher temperatures. Building roads to withstand such heat would be prohibitively expensive, he said.

“We have limited dollars for maintaining our bridges,” Herrmann said. “This is such a rare thing to occur.” </s> ATLANTA (AP) — A massive fire caused an interstate bridge to collapse during rush hour Thursday in Atlanta, just minutes after witnesses said police halted traffic and turned cars away from the crumbling overpass. However, officials said no one was hurt despite dramatic images of massive flames and towering plumes of smoke.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (http://on-ajc.com/2nl88ef ) the fire burned for more than an hour under I-85 northbound near Piedmont Road, spewing large plumes of black smoke skyward. The interstate — a major artery for the U.S. South that runs through the heart of Atlanta — was closed indefinitely.

The impact on traffic long-term was not immediately known, but traffic was bumper to bumper on nearby surface streets Thursday night as people scrambled to find alternate routes.

All Rose Diggs told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she lives less than a mile from the fire site but couldn’t get home because of blocked surface streets. She said she was told to walk despite being disabled, “but it’s raining and dark.”

Capt. Mark Perry of the Georgia State Patrol told the newspaper that the agency doesn’t know what started the fire but that terrorism is not suspected.

Gov. Nathan Deal told reporters that some PVC plastic materials may have caught fire. “I do not know why they did or what the source of their transport was. But those are questions that will hopefully be answered at least by tomorrow morning.”

Deal added that “to his knowledge we have not had any injuries as a result of this fire on the bridge.”

The department warned all motorists to stay off I-85.

Deal said inspectors were at the scene and they’ve contacted the original company that built the bridge to come in and assess the extent of the damage.

“We’re trying to determine everything we can about how quickly can we repair it and get it back in service,” Deal said. “I can assure you we will do everything to expedite the repair and replacement of that section of the bridge.” </s> ATLANTA — Three people were arrested Friday in connection to the massive blaze one day earlier on an Atlanta interstate that caused part of an overpass, officials said.

Deputy Insurance Commissioner Jay Florence said Sophia Broner, Barry Thomas and Basil Eleby were arrested on Friday. Broner and Thomas were charged with trespassing, while Eleby was charged with first-degree criminal damage to property, CBS affiliate WGCL reports.

Atlanta’s dreadful rush-hour traffic could be extra nasty for months with officials saying it will take “several months” to repair the 700-feet of the roadway overpass.

Traffic was bumper to bumper on nearby streets as drivers were forced to take a detour Friday, the day after the blaze caused the concrete to crumble. Friday evening, officials announced that three people had been arrested in connection with the fire.

The collapse took place a few miles north of downtown, and the effects could fall most heavily on commuters from Atlanta’s densely populated northern suburbs. They will have to find other routes to work or ride mass transit.

Connie Bailey-Blake, of Dacula, 37 miles northeast of Atlanta, waited for a MARTA commuter train to reach her job downtown. She typically drives, often by way of the interstate.

“I’m supposed to be at work at 9 a.m. and it’s 9:15 a.m.,” Bailey-Blake said. “The first few days are going to be difficult. This will be my new life.”

Amelia Ford picked a new route to work by car and said it took her 45 minutes to travel 3 miles from her Atlanta home to the nearest open on-ramp to the interstate.

Georgia Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said 350 feet of highway will need to be replaced in both directions on I-85, which carries about 400,000 cars a day through the city and is one of the South’s most important north-south routes.

He said repairs will take months but declined to be more specific.

The collapse effectively “puts a cork in the bottle,” Georgia State Patrol Commissioner Mark McDonough said.

The fire broke out Thursday afternoon in an area used to store state-owned construction materials and equipment, sending flames and smoke high into the air. Fire authorities said they had not determined how the blaze started.

McMurry said his department stored coils of plastic conduit used in fiber optic networks beneath the span but insisted they were noncombustible.

Florence would not discuss how the fire was started or why, saying those details would be released as the investigation progresses.

No injuries were reported from the fire and collapse. Firefighters shut down the section of highway before it gave way, and made it to safety themselves after hearing the road cracking and seeing concrete go flying, authorities said.

In the meantime, MARTA increased rail service and said additional staff would be on hand to help passengers figure out how to get where they’re going.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao promptly released $10 million for the initial repair work, and the Federal Highway Administration promised more in emergency repair funds. Officials gave no estimate of how much the job would cost.

Built in 1953 and renovated in 1985, the span scored high in its most recent inspection, receiving a rating of 94.6 out of 100 in 2015, said Natalie Dale, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Transportation Department.

Lauren Stewart, director of the Structural Engineering and Materials Laboratory at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, said intense heat can compromise even steel-reinforced concrete.

“With fires, especially fires that burn for long periods and with high heat, you can see structures, anything from buildings to bridges, can have their material properties degrade,” Stewart said.

It’s happened before. In 1996, a fire in a big pile of tires beneath I-95 in Philadelphia left a span too weak to handle cars, forcing authorities to shut down 4 miles of the busy East Coast route for repairs.

Andy Herrmann, a retired partner with the New York-based engineering firm Hardesty & Hanover, said there have also been a few instances of gasoline trucks crashing and causing intense heat that damaged overpasses.

In one example, a tanker carrying 8,600 gallons (32,550 liters) of gasoline ignited after crashing into a guardrail on an interchange connecting Interstate 80 to Interstate 880 in Oakland, California. Heat from the flames exceeded 2,750 degrees and caused the steel beams holding up the overpass to buckle and bolts holding the structure together to melt, officials said at the time.

Herrmann said concrete will undergo severe cracking at about 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit and start disintegrating at higher temperatures. Building roads to withstand such heat would be prohibitively expensive, he said.

“We have limited dollars for maintaining our bridges,” Herrmann said. “This is such a rare thing to occur.” </s> ATLANTA — A massive fire caused an interstate bridge to collapse during rush hour Thursday in Atlanta, just minutes after witnesses said police halted traffic and turned cars away from the crumbling overpass. However, officials said no one was hurt despite dramatic images of towering flames and plumes of smoke.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the fire burned for more than an hour under I-85 northbound near Piedmont Road, spewing large clouds of black smoke skyward. The interstate — a major artery for the U.S. South that runs through the heart of Atlanta — was closed indefinitely.

The impact on traffic long-term was not immediately known, but traffic was bumper to bumper on nearby surface streets Thursday night as people scrambled to find alternate routes. The Department of Transportation warned all motorists to stay off I-85.

“This is about as serious a transportation crisis as we can imagine,” Mayor Kasim Reed said.

Rose Diggs told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she lives less than a mile from the fire site but couldn’t get home because of blocked surface streets. She said she was told to walk despite being disabled, “but it’s raining and dark.”

The state’s top transportation official said there’s no way to tell when the highway, which carries 250,000 cars per day, can be safely reopened to traffic in either direction.

“We will have to continue to evaluate the situation and adjust as we do,” Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said. “This incident — make no bones about it — will have a tremendous impact on travel.”

The interstate is a major thoroughfare for traffic heading north and south through Atlanta. The bridge collapse effectively “puts a cork in the bottle,” Georgia State Patrol Commissioner Mark McDonough said.

Capt. Mark Perry of the Georgia State Patrol told the Journal-Constitution that the agency doesn’t know what started the fire beneath the bridge but that terrorism is not suspected.

Gov. Nathan Deal told reporters that some PVC plastic materials in a vehicle may have caught fire. “I do not know why they did or what the source of their transport was,” Deal said. “But those are questions that will hopefully be answered at least by tomorrow morning.”

Deal added that “to my knowledge we have not had any injuries as a result of this fire on the bridge.”

Atlanta Fire Department spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford said no cars were on the overpass when it fell.

“Our guys got here quickly and shut down the interstate and said, “No one else is driving over this bridge,” he said.

Firefighters noticed chunks of concrete falling from the bridge and got out of the way just minutes before it collapsed, Stafford said.

Deal said inspectors were at the scene and they’ve contacted the original company that built the bridge to come in and assess the extent of the damage.

“We’re trying to determine everything we can about how quickly can we repair it and get it back in service,” Deal said. “I can assure you we will do everything to expedite the repair and replacement of that section of the bridge.” </s> ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta's notoriously tangled commutes were thrown into disarray Friday after a bridge on Interstate 85 collapsed amid a massive fire, shutting down the heavily traveled highway through the heart of the city.

Traffic was bumper to bumper on nearby streets as people scrambled to find alternate routes after the fire broke out during rush hour Thursday afternoon. However, officials said no one was hurt despite towering flames and plumes of smoke captured in dramatic video footage.

"This is about as serious a transportation crisis as we can imagine," Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said.

Because of the damage to the key interstate, many commuters in some of Atlanta's densely populated northern suburbs will likely be forced to find alternate routes or ride public transit for weeks or even months.

Georgia's top transportation official said there's no way to tell when the highway, which carries 250,000 cars a day, can be safely reopened to traffic in either direction following the collapse in the northbound lanes leading out of the city.

"We will have to continue to evaluate the situation and adjust as we do," Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said. "This incident — make no bones about it — will have a tremendous impact on travel."

McMurry said Friday in a news release that bridge inspectors have determined the southbound lanes of I-85, adjacent to the section that collapsed, also were damaged by the fire and will need to remain closed for the near future.

He said the fire started in an area used to store construction materials, equipment and supplies. Authorities were still working to determine how the fire started.

Bobby Barnhart, who works for a financial technology company near the interstate, said he and his colleagues watched the bridge collapse from about 60 yards away as the fire raged Thursday afternoon. He said he heard several explosions beneath the bridge, followed by a slow rumbling.

"It was a big sound. You could feel the vibrations," Barnhart said.

With the interstate closed, Barnhart said his Friday morning commute was much more jammed than usual, taking him about 30 minutes rather than the normal 10 to 15.

The interstate is a major artery for the U.S. South and a thoroughfare for traffic heading north and south through Atlanta. The bridge collapse effectively "puts a cork in the bottle," Georgia State Patrol Commissioner Mark McDonough said.

For some motorists, Thursday's snarl brought back nightmares from a winter storm in January 2014 that left drivers stranded on interstates and highways overnight and children trapped on school buses. During that storm, many abandoned their cars and slept in convenience stores or restaurants that opened their doors to commuters seeking shelter.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency after the interstate collapse, saying the state is mobilizing resources to minimize traffic disruption while emergency work continues.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, or MARTA, increased rail service Friday and will have additional staff on hand to help passengers figure out how to get where they're going.

Thursday's fire burned for more than an hour under I-85 northbound, spewing clouds of black smoke skyward. The interstate was shut down and the Department of Transportation warned all motorists to stay off I-85.

Rose Diggs told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she lives less than a mile from the fire site but couldn't get home because of blocked surface streets. She said she was told to walk despite being disabled, "but it's raining and dark."

Capt. Mark Perry of the Georgia State Patrol told the newspaper terrorism is not suspected.

Gov. Deal told reporters PVC plastic materials in a vehicle may have caught fire.

Atlanta Fire Department spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford said no cars were on the overpass when it fell.

"Our guys got here quickly and shut down the interstate and said, 'No one else is driving over this bridge,'" he said.

This story has been corrected to show the name of the person who lives near the fire is Rose Diggs, not All Rose Diggs.
Officials state that repairs will take months following a fire that collapsed a bridge on Interstate 85 in Atlanta, Georgia. Police arrest three individuals in connection with the disaster, charging two with criminal trespass and one with first degree criminal damage.