Crucial artery Piedmont Road has reopened following I-85 collapse

In the wake of Bridgeocalypse (aka Carmageddon II), it would appear the Georgia Department of Transportation isn’t messing around.

The transit agency announced this afternoon that all lanes of Piedmont Road—a crucial artery linking Midtown and Buckhead—have now reopened.

However, Piedmont will again close at 9 p.m. for overnight work. It will reopen indefinitely at 5 a.m. Tuesday, GDOT officials said.

Piedmont’s closure was a particular pain-in-the-arse for bicyclists and pedestrians left with few options for getting around the rubble, as 11Alive reported.

Ancillary feeder roads such as the Buford-Spring Connector reopened over the weekend, hours after an inferno fed by construction materials had scorched and collapsed half of the dozen-lane freeway. Southbound lanes were deemed too damaged for vehicle travel and have since been torn down, too.

A press conference led by GDOT Commissioner Russell McMurry is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday in downtown Atlanta. Expected topics include “updates on various aspects of the demolition, engineering, design, and construction of the replacement I-85 bridge,” officials said.

Meanwhile, GDOT released the following photo via Twitter to ensure Atlantans that a team of bridge designers is “working around the clock getting the replacement plans ready.”

Georgia DOT/Twitter

• Atlanta’s I-85 bridge collapse brings unwanted, international attention [Curbed]