Gonna make my life hell for a while. I'm a recruiter here in town. Alpharetta to Downtown and reverse is a lot of the recruiting I do. Brutal.

I'm not a structural engineer, so would someone please educate me on how burning PVC can cause an entire section of overpass to drop? Thanks.

Extreme heat damaging the concrete and causing the rebar to heat up, expand, and then the concrete 'pops'.

It wasn't a little fire:

quote:

Originally posted by M-11:
I'm not a structural engineer, so would someone please educate me on how burning PVC can cause an entire section of overpass to drop? Thanks.

Heat?

It doesn't look like it was a few pieces of PVC, but instead a pile of it. I expect it burned really hot, and for a long time.

quote:

Originally posted by Bigboreshooter:

quote:

That is going to take years to repair.

I don't think so. Several years ago a similar thing happened in Birmingham. A fire on an elevated portion of the interstate through downtown B'ham caused a section of the interstate to collapse. A contract was awarded for the repairs, with an estimated time of 60+ days. But the contractor worked 24hrs/day and had the repairs completed in just over 30 days.

Probably correct.

I was going on the images I saw yesterday and did not see the view from the air.

Those looked a lot worse than what that shows.

And for "fast repairs", I have seen it done, when hurricane Opal took out a mile of Hwy 98 on Okaloosa Island, and damaged significant sections of more than 3 miles total, contractors came in and repaired it in just a few months.

It was many dozens of spools of pvc pipe.

They just ran the homeless camp off under there.

Helicopter pilot's video from this morning shows it without the smoke and fire, now - that's crazy.

https://twitter.com/mckayWSB/s...s/847795721885683712

these spools are what burned:



this is the section that collapsed:

OK, thanks. Wouldn't it be a bit suspicious for a stored pile of PVC to ignite? Shouldn't that take a fair amount of high and/or long term ignition?

Well, it wasn't spontaneous if that's what you're saying.

FBI saying it wasn't terrorism based on what they know.

But they never said it wasn't arson.

quote:

Originally posted by M-11:
OK, thanks. Wouldn't it be a bit suspicious for a stored pile of PVC to ignite? Shouldn't that take a fair amount of high and/or long term ignition?

Don't know the original source of the flames. Here is what is believed to be the earliest picture of the flames. You can already see the thick black smoke accumulating under the bridge. Not sure if that is the PVC burning or something else.

Back in the late '80s, a twelve lane elevated section of I-78 in Newark NJ buckled and partially collapsed due to a fire beneath it.
Working around the clock, they were able to reopen most of it in under 4 months. So, it can be done, as long as somebody finds the necessary $$.

The I-495 bridge over Christiana River began tilting due to compacted soil. In 2014 the shutdown affected the entire eastern seaboard's traffic pattern. At first Delaware was talking about "indefinite" closure, possibly two years. It ended up being a bit under three months.

In March 1996 I-95 through Philadelphia closed due to a massive tire fire under the bridge. The contractors finished repairs in about six months. Although I cannot find reference to the completion date, I recall it was before Labor Day, and a BIG bonus was paid for speedy rebuilding.

Have the zombies arrived yet?

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Have the zombies arrived yet?

we think they're who started the fire...

So, how will this affect visiting the NRA meetin/show later in April? I was planning to come for a day. Will be driving in from Greenville, South Carolina.

quote:

Originally posted by batex:
So, how will this affect visiting the NRA meetin/show later in April? I was planning to come for a day. Will be driving in from Greenville, South Carolina.

by then traffic patterns will start to normalize to the alternatives. your best bet will likely be I285 down the east side to I20, and then into the city. plan your day to avoid rush hour traffic. get here the night before and get a hotel.

Could those rolls belong to DOT, they look like some stuff I have seen on road construction sites. Would be a real hoot if DOT material caused the collapse.

quote:

Originally posted by fischtown7:
Could those rolls belong to DOT, they look like some stuff I have seen on road construction sites. Would be a real hoot if DOT material caused the collapse.

general consensus is that they were PVC conduit for fiber optic cables.

Google streetview gives a real good

2117-2129 Piedmont Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30324
https://goo.gl/maps/jWYSn8VY78E2