Major city roads remain closed around the site where a construction crane partially collapsed in Midtown on Monday, leaving at least 1,000 residents unable to return to their homes. City officials say they do not know when the busy roads will reopen.
Atlanta Fire Chief Chief Rod Smith said fire crews have worked with engineers and construction crews to stabilize the crane after a mechanical failure, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Four people working on a high-rise apartment building on West Peachtree Street were injured Monday afternoon when the one of the crane’s counterweights became dislodged. Then, of the four structures that attached it to the building fell away, the AJC reported.
Crews brought in a second crane to dismantle the first crane. Police have closed portions of both West Peachtree and Spring streets between 10th and 11th streets. One block of 12th Street is also closed. Buildings around the construction site have been evacuated as a result, according to the AJC.
“This is an elevated situation that we find ourselves in, mitigating as a city,β Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at a Tuesday press conference. βThose closures will remain in place for as long as necessary to ensure that vehicles are routed away… and that citizens that may be walking in the neighborhood take alternate routes.β
Most of the displaced residents lived at the Tens on West apartment complex next door to the construction site.
City officials said they did not know when Spring and West Peachtree streets would be reopened. The two streets connect to the city’s interstate and are two of Midtown’s main commuter roads.
Midtown Alliance said in an email that these streets would remain closed while work continues to dismantle the crane:
- West Peachtree St. between 10th and 12th St.
- 12th St. from West Peachtree to Spring St.
- Spring St. between 12th and 10th St.
Tens on West resident Sierra Martin said in an email to Rough Draft that she’s still unable to access her building and accommodation at a local recreation center or discounted rates at nearby hotels were the only compensation offered by her building’s management, Wood Residential, and developer Balfour Beatty, which is constructing the building where the crane collapsed.
“As a ‘luxury’ apartment complex with units going up to $4,000 a month and a major real estate developer in the city of Atlanta, Wood Residential and Balfour Beatty should be held responsible for a negligent situation,” Martin wrote.