Page 6 - aruba-today-20170401

A6 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 1 april 2017

Fiery highway collapse may snarl Atlanta traffic for months

hearing the road cracking can see structures, any-
and seeing concrete go thing from buildings to
flying, authorities said. bridges, can have their ma-
In the meantime, MARTA terial properties degrade,”
increased rail service and Stewart said.
said additional staff would It’s happened before. In
be on hand to help passen- 1996, a fire in a big pile of
gers figure out how to get tires beneath I-95 in Phila-
where they’re going. delphia left a span too
U.S. Transportation Secre- weak to handle cars, forc-
tary Elaine Chao promptly ing authorities to shut down
released $10 million for the 4 miles of the busy East
initial repair work, and the Coast route for repairs.
Federal Highway Admin- Andy Herrmann, a retired
istration promised more in partner with the New York-
emergency repair funds. based engineering firm
Officials gave no estimate Hardesty & Hanover, said
of how much the job would there have also been a few
cost. instances of gasoline trucks
Built in 1953 and renovated crashing and causing in-
in 1985, the span scored tense heat that damaged
high in its most recent in- overpasses.
Pedestrians try to cross detoured traffic as Piedmont Avenue is closed due to a section of an over- spection, receiving a rat- In one example, a tank-
pass that collapsed from a large fire on Interstate 85 in Atlanta, Friday, March 31, 2017. Atlanta’s ing of 94.6 out of 100 in er carrying 8,600 gallons
dreadful rush-hour traffic got even worse Friday, the morning after a raging fire underneath Inter- 2015, said Natalie Dale, (32,550 liters) of gasoline
state 85 collapsed an elevated portion of the highway and shut down the heavily traveled route a spokeswoman for the ignited after crashing into
through the heart of the city. Georgia Transportation De- a guardrail on an inter-
(AP Photo/David Goldman) partment. change connecting Inter-

Continued from front The fire broke out Thurs- ment stored coils of plastic Lauren Stewart, director of state 80 to Interstate 880 in
day afternoon in an area conduit used in fiber optic the Structural Engineering Oakland, California.
He said repairs will take used to store state-owned networks beneath the span and Materials Laboratory Heat from the flames ex-
months but declined to be construction materials and but insisted they were non- at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, ceeded 2,750 degrees and
more specific. equipment, sending flames combustible. said intense heat can com- caused the steel beams
The collapse effectively and smoke high into the No injuries were reported. promise even steel-rein- holding up the overpass
“puts a cork in the bot- air. Fire authorities said they Firefighters shut down the forced concrete. to buckle and bolts hold-
tle,” Georgia State Patrol had not determined how section of highway before “With fires, especially fires ing the structure together
Commissioner Mark Mc- the blaze started. it gave way, and made it that burn for long periods to melt, officials said at the
Donough said. McMurry said his depart- to safety themselves after and with high heat, you time.q
Witness: Driver in crash admitted texting before collision

JUAN A. LOZANO near the town of Concan. old Jack Dillon Young, of not comment on the report hibit the practice, but local
Associated Press Kuchler said the truck had Leakey, Texas. Friday. However, Jennifer ordinances may not have
HOUSTON (AP) — The driver crossed the center line sev- “He said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m Morrison, the investigator applied where Wednes-
of a pickup truck that col- eral times while he followed sorry. I was texting.’ I said, in charge of the team from day’s crash occurred in a
lided with a church minibus it. Kuchler said he called “Son, do you know what the National Transportation rural area. Laws in 46 other
in rural Texas, killing 13 peo- the sheriff’s offices for both you just did? He said, ‘I’m Safety Board, said Friday states ban sending or read-
ple, apologized after the Uvalde and Real counties sorry. I’m sorry,’” Kuchler that distracted driving will ing email, using apps or en-
crash and acknowledged while he followed the truck quoted the pickup driver be among the issues in- gaging in other use of the
he had been texting while and told them “they need- as saying. vestigated. Young remains internet while driving.
driving, a witness said Fri- ed to get him off the road Department of Public hospitalized following the Texas’ GOP-controlled Leg-
day. before he hit somebody.” Safety Sgt. Conrad Hein crash. Twelve people died islature approved a state-
Jody Kuchler told The As- Kuchler said he witnessed declined to comment on at the scene, authorities wide ban in 2011 but it was
sociated Press he was driv- the crash and afterward, Friday on the cause of the said. Another bus passen- vetoed by then-Gov. Rick
ing behind the truck and he checked on both the crash or if texting might ger died at a San Antonio Perry, who characterized
had seen it moving errati- bus and the truck and was have played a role. But of- hospital. such prohibitions as gov-
cally prior to the Wednes- able to speak with the driv- ficials have said the truck Texas is unusual in that it has ernment micromanage-
day collision on a two-lane er, who has been identified driver appeared to have no statewide ban on tex- ment and said educat-
road about 75 miles west by the Texas Department crossed the center line. ting while driving. Dozens of ing drivers was the key to
(120 km) of San Antonio, of Public Safety as 20-year- Federal investigators would cities across the state pro- deterrence.q