ATLANTA -- A portion of Interstate 85 has collapsed as a massive fire raged on Thursday evening.

The fire is near the Buford-Spring Connector. Click here for live coverage.</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 -- Traffic is about to get even trickier around Atlanta.

The Georgia Department of Transportation wants drivers to beware of the following closures due to the damage on I-85 after Thursday's fire and collapse.

· I-85 is closed from I-75/Brookwood split to the North Druid Hills Exit

 · Motorists traveling northbound on I-85 from the southside of Atlanta will be diverted to northbound I-75 at Brookwood near 17th Street

 · Motorists traveling southbound on I-85 north of Atlanta will be diverted to northbound on SR400

 · Motorists traveling southbound on SR400 from north of Atlanta will be diverted at Sidney Marcus exit

 · I-285 and I-20 are both open to traffic and are the best alternatives for motorists to utilize if possible.

GDOT created these maps to show the detours on I-85 and closures.

This map gives a closer look at the Piedmont Rd. detours because road is closed from Chersire Bridge to Sydney Marcus Blvd.

Download the 11Alive News app and watch Atlanta Alive for the best routes to get you where you need to be on Friday! Check our traffic maps and camera!

RELATED| Alternate routes to Interstate 85 for motorists in and around metro Atlanta

AND | I-85 fire: What you need to know</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.

THE LATEST

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>ATLANTA -- A portion of Interstate 85 has collapsed as a massive fire raged on Thursday evening.

The fire is near the Buford-Spring Connector. Click here for live coverage.</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 (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 -- A portion of Interstate 85 has collapsed as a massive fire raged on Thursday evening.

The fire is near the Buford-Spring Connector. Click here for live coverage.</s>ATLANTA (AP) — A large fire has caused an overpass on Interstate 85 to collapse in Atlanta.

The massive blaze is burning underneath I-85 northbound near Piedmont Road. It has shut down several roads in northeast Atlanta.

Witnesses say troopers were telling cars to turn around on the bridge because they were concerned about its integrity. Minutes later, the bridge collapsed.

Black smoke can be seen for miles.

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Don’t miss another post on Facebook or Twitter for all the latest breaking news</s>ATLANTA (AP) — A large fire has caused an overpass on Interstate 85 to collapse in Atlanta.

WSB-TV reports the massive blaze is burning underneath I-85 northbound near Piedmont Road. It has shut down several roads in northeast Atlanta.

Witnesses say troopers were telling cars to turn around on the bridge because they were concerned about its integrity. Minutes later, the bridge collapsed.

Black smoke can be seen for miles.
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.