Part of I-85 collapses in Atlanta after massive fire

originally posted by: schuyler
I-85 is a stupid place for a terrorist attack. There's nothing special about it. It;s not a landmark or otherwise famous. I'm not thinking anyone with actual knowledge of the situation is calling it that. All it;s doing is screwing up the commute. Traffic through that area is bad under normal conditions.

Well, my thought on it is funneling people somewhere else. So this is about to be one of the biggest spring break weekends ever because of the number of schools out next week. Shut down one artery to clog another. Sitting ducks on a highway would be easy pickins.

My original link had terror ties in it and for some reason it's gone...

Anywho...hopefully it is only a super heated fire caused by accident. To burn a major highway overpass to the point of collapse had to have some serious heat though.

originally posted by: TheAlleghenyGentleman
I blame the careless hobos that used to live under that bridge. Is it to late to throw my ex-wife in that fire?

Let's make a 2-fer...lets just say in Salem, my ex would not float....

originally posted by: marg6043
So for what I read is that it was a storage area behind the bridge with lots of plastic pipes and some how it caught fire due to an electrical problem and that cause the fire that collapsed the bridge.

It was not a hot day today it was actually pleasant.

Yeah...today was overcast and not hot at all.

a reply to: marg6043

A few years ago, an avalanche on a rural stretch of I-40 at the TN/NC border closed it down for months and screwed up the whole region.

Atlanta Public Schools considers closing schools tomorrow - a day early for spring break, to lighten traffic.

ETA: APD schools OPEN tomorrow, regular hours.
Fulton County Schools open., regular hours
Dekalb County Chools closed

a reply to: Vasa Croe

The 911 truthers will be here soon claiming thermite took it down, cause you know, fire can't weaken steel to the point of failure.

originally posted by: mikell

originally posted by: seagull
a reply to: Vasa Croe

Your link is broken.

Is this what you're talking about?

overpass collapse.

Second stories better

Man carrying red mercury causes hazmat situation in downtown

Yikes! Good catch!
What is going on in Atlanta today?

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are handling a hazardous materials situation at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in downtown Atlanta.

Officials confirm they received a call saying a man carried red mercury from Africa into the facility.

The Atlanta Fire Department shut down parts of Courtland and Baker streets while they investigate the situation.

That location is near the Tattletale lounge 2075 Piedmont.

a reply to: BlueAjah

Vibe in the area kind of bad all week. Several incidences of road rage and many bad accidents. Must be in the air.

a reply to: Cauliflower

Among other "interesting" establishments. You know the drinks are flowing and the ladies are making a dolla...

Funny, when the OP mentioned terrorist, some people instantly jumped to the defense thinking that he was talking about Radical Islamic Terrorism.

News flash: terrorism is anything done by anyone that is considered violence and intimidation against a civilian population. Even if this was just intentional petty arson it could be classified as terrorism because the bridge is civilian infrastructure.

originally posted by: kosmicjack
a reply to: BlueAjah

Vibe in the area kind of bad all week. Several incidences of road rage and many bad accidents. Must be in the air.

That's pretty much standard fare in Atlanta at any given time.

JUST IN: Downtown streets closed amid ‘red mercury’ investigation

Officials are investigating in downtown Atlanta after reports that a man claiming to have red mercury from Africa walked into the Region 2 location of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, police said.

“We received a call regarding a male coming into the facility carrying red mercury from Africa,” Atlanta police Officer Stephanie Brown said. “We are still gathering details on the call.”

Red mercury is reportedly a substance used to create nuclear bombs, but its existence has not been documented.

Brown said Homeland Security is en route to the location.

Parts of Peachtree Street, Peachtree Center Avenue and Courtland Street have been closed and officers are redirecting traffic.

A hazmat team, bomb squad and fire trucks were seen near the investigation.

Here's the latest from Channel 2 in Atlanta ...

I haven't heard anything on local news about terrorism.

What the heck is BURNING, though?

a reply to: BlueAjah

That needs its on thread. That's likely the source of the terror confusion? But separate incidences, right?

Thunderstorms rolling in...at least it will help with the fire...but hurt with the traffic.

a reply to: Vasa Croe

This sort of thing happens more often than you think. The highway infrastructure in the US is aging and not gracefully at all. You have no idea how dangerous it is driving down even the major interstates in this country- many are on the verge of collapse and it wouldn't take much more than an 18 wheeler catching it's brakes on fire to take out large sections of a busy interstate. I lived within eyesight of I-10 for years, which is a major semi route and driving over the Purple Heart Bridge (formerly Neches River Bridge) there were holes large enough to look down at the river through and you never knew when it was going to collapse driving over it for YEARS. There are major highway collapses on a regular basis.

originally posted by: Gryphon66
Here's the latest from Channel 2 in Atlanta ...

I haven't heard anything on local news about terrorism.

What the heck is BURNING, though?

Huge spools of insulated cable they were storing under the interstate.

City and state officials considering staggering opening hours for various public services like license offices, courts, etc.

a reply to: GeauxHomeYoureDrunk

That still conjecture though right? Based on pics of the area from google earth.