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7 things we know about the I-85 bridge collapse two weeks later
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | April 18, 2017 | Fiza Pirani

Posted on 04/27/2017 10:56:16 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks

It’s been at least two weeks since a massive fire caused a section of I-85 to collapse, throwing metro Atlanta traffic into gridlock and leaving many wondering who exactly was to blame.

» The latest: Man charged with I-85 bridge fire pleads not guilty, to be released on bond Here’s what we know so far:

Who’s at fault?

Basil Eleby, 39, was charged with starting the fire. On Tuesday, April 18, Eleby pleaded not guilty to arson and criminal trespass charges and is expected to be released on a $10,000 signature bond.

According to AJC’s Rhonda Cook, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville also ordered Eleby to enter into a treatment facility and banned him from going near the I-85 bridge unless he is with his attorneys.

Eleby’s attorneys say the Georgia Department of Transportation is also to blame for the fire for storing construction material under the bridge for years.

But, according to Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell R. McMurry, storing the material there isn’t uncommon at all.

“It does not ignite,” he said. “It takes something to cause something like that to burn. It is a high-density plastic that is not combustible.”

When The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s reporters investigated what exactly happened under the bridge and why the materials were stored there, the newspaper found security at the site was lacking and determined that officials don’t really know what’s stored under other bridges around the state.

Jay Florence, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Insurance (which also includes the fire marshal’s office), identified two other suspects who were charged with criminal tresspass: Sophia Bruner and Barry Thomas.

“We believe they were together when the fire was set and Eleby is the one who set the fire,” Florence said.

(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events; US: Georgia
KEYWORDS: advocates; arson; atlanta; bail; basileleby; collapse; construction; crime; demolition; georgia; homeless; i85; infrastructure; jobs; lawyers; neglect; storage; transportation
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1 posted on 04/27/2017 10:56:16 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Private contractors, government units, utility companies all store construction & utility related stuff willy nilly, secure or unsecure, for convenience and sometimes out of neglect, with no culture within them for strict accountability of the material.


2 posted on 04/27/2017 11:19:02 AM PDT by Wuli
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Since when did they need an excuse for traffic gridlock in Atlanta? I thought traffic gridlock is expected in Atlanta on any day whose name ends in Y.


3 posted on 04/27/2017 11:19:46 AM PDT by CommerceComet (Hillary: A unique blend of incompetence and corruption.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Fireproof bridge, just like fireproof McCormick Place, Chicago 1967.

http://www.exhibitcitynews.com/rebuilt-never-forgotten-mccormick-place-fire-1967/


4 posted on 04/27/2017 11:23:21 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT (Go Trump!)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Signature bond? This guy will never be seen in court...


5 posted on 04/27/2017 11:33:40 AM PDT by clintonh8r (AMERICA! THANK YOU FOR MAKING MY SCREEN NAME OBSOLETE!)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

A similar fire almost destroyed the Liberty Bridge in Pittsburgh last summer.

In that case a contractor had also left plastic construction materials lying around, which they clamed were not flammable.

One of their welders set it off with a spark.


6 posted on 04/27/2017 11:42:00 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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A crackhead can destroy an interstate bridge? Huh?


7 posted on 04/27/2017 11:44:26 AM PDT by proust (Trump / Pence 2016!)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

I remember reading of bums who would build a homrless shelter under various overpasses on interstates. I always wondered what would happen if they set something on fire.


8 posted on 04/27/2017 11:47:26 AM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)
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To: proust
A crackhead can destroy an interstate bridge?

Just imagine what a knowledgeable ISIS (or Antifa) team could do.

9 posted on 04/27/2017 12:00:40 PM PDT by Gritty (Islam is king on a field of corpses - Mark Steyn)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Here is a a time lapse of Bridge Reconstruction:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6xJBeAXWFo


10 posted on 04/27/2017 12:01:04 PM PDT by Broker (EQUAL JUSTICE FOR ALL.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

But wait- fire can’t soften steel! The 9/11 conspiracists said so!


11 posted on 04/27/2017 12:09:50 PM PDT by JimRed ( TERM LIMITS, NOW! Building the Wall! TRUTH is the new HATE SPEECH.)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Anybody talking to Mayor Mohammed?


12 posted on 04/27/2017 12:40:52 PM PDT by Mamzelle
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Atlanta bridge collapse shows how fire defeats concrete, steel (3/31)
13 posted on 04/27/2017 12:42:50 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (April 2006 Message from Dan: http://www.dansimmons.com/news/message/2006_04.htm)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

Atlanta. Our crack-heads have reached terror level RED!


14 posted on 04/27/2017 12:45:47 PM PDT by The Toll
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
I-85 collapse: Three arrested after major fire under Atlanta highway (4/1)
15 posted on 04/27/2017 12:52:55 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (April 2006 Message from Dan: http://www.dansimmons.com/news/message/2006_04.htm)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
"...It is a high-density plastic that is not combustible.”

Everything burns...given the right temperature.

16 posted on 04/27/2017 1:09:05 PM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (Good judgement comes from experience. And experience? Well, that comes from poor judgement.)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

These people are idiots. Case in point, it did indeed combust and collapsed the bridge. What are you going to believe, this idiot, or the fact that the damn bridge collapsed??? What caused the bridge to collapse then? Did the homeless guy bring in tons of some other flammable material that actually did combust? What a moron.


17 posted on 04/27/2017 1:57:27 PM PDT by rednesss (fascism is the union,marriage,merger or fusion of corporate economic power with governmental power)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Georgia will rethink storage under bridges after fire destroyed span (4/3)
18 posted on 04/27/2017 2:16:02 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (April 2006 Message from Dan: http://www.dansimmons.com/news/message/2006_04.htm)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The Racist Constipation protects the black man


19 posted on 04/27/2017 2:19:19 PM PDT by bert (K.E.; N.P.; GOPc;WASP .... Hillary is Ameritrash, pass it on)
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To: Buckeye McFrog

“Flammable” has a clinical defintion. Wood and coal are not flammable, just to give you an idea of how the clinical defintions work.


20 posted on 04/27/2017 2:25:23 PM PDT by Cboldt
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