Follows a route through Atlanta from I-20W to I-75/85N to I-85N where we cross the (repaired section that had recently collapsed) to GA-400N through Buckhead and past I-285. All music and equipment info is listed in the closing credits.
Yeah I was born and raised in Atlanta-actually I was born in Marietta and my dad was born in Atlanta. Yeah Atlanta's a great place to live and it is a beautiful city.
If I had any "say so" in the matter, this is worthy of an engineering award or 2, based on the speed with which this was compleated. The need was great and was adressed in record time.
Looks like quite a pleasant drive. Georgia was seriously admirable in how it handled that I-85 collapse, it's hard to believe it was fixed that quickly. the repaved connector and I-85 looks quite nice as well. I'd love to see Atlanta irl at some point, thanks for sharing!
@@Freewayjim I know this comment thread is 5 years old but that bridge incident should serve as wake up call to diversify transportation options in Atlanta
Couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to go out filming, very nice work! Glad they were able to finish it in such a short time, ATL commuters rejoice!!
I always love seeing that section at 4:34 where the freeway goes under the buildings at an oblique angle. That must have taken some engineering. I always remember this section from your videos in Atlanta.
Nice video, Jim. Nice ride and cool music. 42 days! That was quick. It shows you that when something has to be done RIGHT NOW the State can get off its derriere and get it done. Now if they could do something on signing the bannered routes (business, conn, loop, spur) in a manner that's visible--like in green letters in the green space above the route marker. Flying by that Rte. 141 sign was a blur and you guys over there not to mention visitors and people driving through can't afford to keep your eyes off the traffic for one second!
Similar issue in SF/Oakland several years back when an overpass on the MacArthur Maze collapsed in a fire started by a wrecked tanker truck. Yet they found a contractor who got it replaced in less than a month, almost half the original time they were allotted.
Great ride, I know the powers to be in Atlanta and GDOT are appreciative of you making this video to showcase the fantastic repair they did in record time.
WOW, Atlanta is beautiful and their freeways look consistent, compared to the LA area Atlanta has the upper hand in highways. I would love to drive around Atlanta someday 😊😄
Great videos! Your videos are a great source for archives of Atlanta and the growing metro area. Especially Gwinnett county and the rest of the United States.
That looked like a California-like day; awesome filming conditions! Loved your take on the I-85 rebuild, with the images of news scenes thrown into this. Great job and nice soundtrack to boot as well.
The repair looks very good. I envy you guys in Georgia for your local government stepping up to the plate and making things happen by repairing that bridge in the short time that they did. I wish we've had that kind of efficiency with the Virilla Bridge on the Number 1 highway's express way segment between San José and Juan Santamaría airport (Costa Rica's main international airport). Since an expansion joint failed and the metal plate that covered it went loose in 2008, they've been spending 9 years trying to fix a bridge, that was inaugurated in 1957, that is 156 metres long (that's 512 feet) and never really received maintenance. The new repaired bridge, which was also made more compliant with today's seismic regulations and expanded to six lanes, was supposed to be inaugurated on February 28th of this year, but it's been delayed over and over. Now the government claims it will be opened some time this week. The Virilla Bridge has become a symbol of government incompetence in transportation policy and public works. A total of three presidents have promised to fix the bridge, several millions of Dollars were burned on bad repairs (in Colones, we've probably hit more than a billion Colones by now), and it took them nearly a decade to fix it. Another bridge, the Juan Pablo II bridge (also on the Number 1 highway), is also showing major signs of decay due to the maintenance (or lack thereof), after more than 3 decades since it was inaugurated and named after John Paul II. God knows if they will tear that bridge down to build a new one or if it will collapse on its own soon. Sorry for the rant.
@@Freewayjim I've been going to Atlanta for 30 yrs, down 85 from Charlotte and the GDOT has to be the best in the nation ! Always ahead of everyone else inthe construction of hiways !!
Very nice ride- also good to see they got that fixed as fast as they did- was impressed by how fast it was done- and also a nice ride through Buckhead- always wanted to check that out- reminds me of some freeway I saw in a dream years ago- wanna check Atlanta out some day!
woah! driven over that so many times and didn’t even realize that was the section that burned down and rebuilt! i’m gonna pay more attention next time haha
Hey Jim, I stumbled upon you videos, the northern California ones, and I just LOVE them! I have travelled some of them I am a fan!! keep up the great work!!
I listen to this song almost every day! I've been obsessed with visiting Atlanta lately so I clicked on your video and I had to double take! Lmao what are the odds. Btw great video, they never disappoint. For anyone who likes the track its from the album Afterdark: Chicago Song: can't you see the sunshine through the rain?
Another Impressive Video Freewayjim. Amazing how quickly and efficiently the GDOT and the Contractors worked their cans off to get I-85 Online and Operational Again. Speaking of Openings/Reopenings, did you know that today (May 22, 2017), Dave & Busters opened their forth Atlanta Location in Alpharetta?
Wow, thanks for that great video, and props to GDOT for getting I-85 back up and running after the collapse. We visited Atlanta during the closure and had booked a non-refundable hotel in Buckhead. We decided to get around by MARTA, which worked out well...except for our first trip when the train caught on fire and we had to evacuate the tunnel between the Midtown and North Avenue stations. Still made it to dinner on time though :)
Looks good now that it's done! If you want to highlight construction; I'd recommend coming back to Florida (I-95 in Jacksonville for the overland bridge project and I-4 Ultimate)!
Haven't been through Atlanta in years (the only exception is when I drove to Kennesaw/Woodstock last September). There was one day in DC when the Roosevelt Bridge closed during morning rush hour, and it was the worst Monday nightmare for traffic. So I cannot imagine what it was like for driving around Atlanta without a section of I-85.
I can see why double decking the Connector is being considered as a possibility... The fix looks good-shows that when the state wants to get off the dime and get it done they can do it. I'm reminded of the incident where a tanker truck blew up on the Beachline in Merritt Island some five years back and took out the bridge crossing FL 3...they said 30 days, and 30 days later the bridge was replaced...
GDOT was at least thinking about it in 2005, here's the link from the Atlanta Business Journal: www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2015/04/07/georgia-dot-eyes-tunnel-double-deck-for-downtown.html
Does GDOT, the city, or even Fulton County have the re$our¢e$ to even think about putting an expansion worthy of making the Big Dig look like gahbage??? It'd actually be interesting to find out...
I don't know about $20 Billion laying around but it would be easier to do something here with no water crossings to deal with and the other challenges that Boston had to overcome.
Thanks for a nice ride, Jim. The fast work on I 85 is proof that money talks. The contractors got a nice bonus ($3 million, I think) for finishing quickly, just like what happened in LA after the Northridge earthquake knocked out bridges on the Santa Monica, Golden State, and Simi Valley Freeways.
I don't have to commute there so I don't really know. Some used public transportation, some other roads were clogged (especially I-285), some telecommuted, the city functioned.
I see. Thanks for the response. I guess it has been proven again that people adapt very well. Remember the "carmageddon" in Los Angeles when they widened the 405? Politicians and media, as well as citizens thought it was going to be chaos. But people adapt, people either don't drive, or use surface streets.
Nice job Jim and here in the New York metro area there was a similar incident back in 1989 when the I-78 viaduct between exits 57 and 56 collapsed under a fire similar to the I-85 connector fire. My guess is that NJDOT assisted GDOT in rebuilding I-85 connector viaduct after the fire and here is the NY times article about the I-78 exits 56-57 bridge fire www.nytimes.com/1989/08/08/nyregion/fire-in-unlicensed-newark-dump-closes-highway.html
Great video, I'm glad the guy at 1:47 in the silver VW Passat didn't get under your skin, because he was very irritating, fanning his arm to get into the left lane at the last minute. Otherwise this was a smooth relaxing ride...
Whoah... the "colors" in this ride looked even more badass than usual... and they're usually eye-popping as it is. Guess it's has to be THE rightest of the right possible moments, I guess... Lots of seemingly brand new beautiful buildings along the connector... Any of the ones seemingly under construction going to legitimately hit skyscraper status when finished???
Thanks, the polarizer filter helps :) They are building like crazy in downtown, midtown, and Buckhead as well as the suburbs, we are having another growth boom here.
public/private partnerships is what does neat and fast repair jobs like what they did on I-85, because i don't see any other way they could've done it.
Visiting my native Cleveland a few years back, one of my friends was complaining about heavy traffic on I-90 going into downtown. I told him "that ain't heavy traffic. Wanna see heavy traffic? Try I-75/85 through Downtown Atlanta. 14 lanes and they jam up on command."
Thanks, yeah, I did not do it in this video due to the nature of its theme and the still image of the box at the beginning, but yeah that's a staple with most videos and will be in the next one.
They are just like Interstates, except I think they actually have a smaller median than Interstates. They all used to be toll roads until the last toll booths closed in around 2006. (By the way, the Western Kentucky Parkway is the very definition of a deserted road, with almost no traffic and very few exits and few fast food restaurants. Plus, there was a rest stop inside the median of the road that recently closed.)
In all honestly, I really don't have one, I just don't get caught up in the minutiae of signs, but I know some people like them...I like some things about both I suppose.
Hey, Jim. If I compare the I-85 bridge collapse in Atlanta to the I-95 collapse in Northeast Philly, I'd say the I-95 collapse is way worse than the I-85 collapse.
Google the story for more details, someone supposedly set a fire underneath it and there were some flammable materials under the bridge (brilliant), no, nobody was hurt.
