ATLANTA — As business owners and residents deal with the fallout of yet another fire near Cheshire Bridge Road, one Atlanta City Council member is offering the first hints on how long it could take the road to reopen.
Alex Wan, who represents the city's 6th district, stated the repair timeline could be as long as 10 weeks, per his recent newsletter.
However, Wan also noted that repair "would result in the entire roadway being opened to traffic with no near-term need to replace the existing bridge."
In Wan's update, he noted the bridge won't have to be rebuilt like the one that caught fire in 2021. Instead, he said it would get repaired after a portion of the bridge was replaced. He added that, unlike the 2021 fire and repairs, they will not open only one or two lanes and will wait for the complete bridge to reopen.
Wan also said crews have been onsite to remove items from homeless encampments under the bridge and to speak with people experiencing homelessness in the area. Wan added that he's working with the City's Department of Transportation to watch for any issues with traffic being re-routed around the bridge. 11Alive has reached out for an update on the repairs as well.
On Tuesday, 11Alive spoke with the owner of Nakato Japanese Restaurant, which has held its location on Cheshire Bridge Road for more than 50 years.
"It just went up in flames, just like the first one," Sachiyo Takahara said. "And the road is shut down again."
Takahara said her grandmother opened the restaurant in 1972. Throughout their time on Cheshire Bridge, she said they've been through a lot.
"It's been kind of chaotic with the 85/75 bridge collapse and then COVID," she said, then mentioning the Cheshire Bridge fire in 2021, which took 15 months to repair and the fire that happened before Christmas 2023. "And the LaVista fire in the apartments, it's just been one thing after another."
Takahara is also the president of the Piedmont Heights Alliance.
"It's a collaborative community that needs to hold strong and be heard," the restaurant owner said. "I'm thankful for that... "But at the same time, it's not quick enough ever, especially when livelihoods and businesses are in jeopardy."
She also noted that she wishes something could be done to find shelters and rehabilitation programs for the homeless population in the area. Some people experiencing homelessness lived under the bridge and businesses said they have complained to the City.
"I wish we can solve the bigger issue instead of putting bandaids on and reacting to certain events that happen when we always know and have been telling the City that what's going on," Takahara said.
In the meantime, Takahara said she hopes locals will make an extra effort to support the businesses on Cheshire Bridge as they wait for the bridge to reopen.
Cheshire Bridge Road detours
Piedmont Ave NE northbound
- Continue north past Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
- Turn right onto Lindbergh Way NE eastbound
- Lindbergh Dr. NE intersects Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
Piedmont Rd NE southbound at Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
- Continue south past Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
- Turn left onto E Morningside Dr. NE eastbound
- Continue eastbound as E Morningside Dr. NE becomes E Rock Springs Rd NE
- Turn left onto Johnson Rd NE northbound
- Turn left onto Lenox Rd NE northbound
- Lenox Rd NE intersects Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
Piedmont Cir NE eastbound at Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
- Turn left onto Piedmont Rd NE northbound
- Turn right onto Lindbergh Way NE eastbound
- Lindbergh Dr. NE intersects Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
Cheshire Bridge Rd NE southbound at Lindbergh Dr. NE
- Turn right onto Lindbergh Dr NE westbound
- Turn Left onto Piedmont Rd NE southbound
- Piedmont Rd NE connects to Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
Cheshire Bridge Rd NE southbound at Woodland Ave NE
- Turn left onto Woodland Ave NE eastbound
- Turn right onto Lenox Rd NE southbound
- Turn right onto Johnson Rd NE southbound
- Turn right onto E Rock Springs Rd NE westbound
- Continue westbound as E Rock Springs Rd NE becomes E Morningside Dr. NE
- Turn right onto Piedmont Ave NE northbound
- Piedmont Ave NE connects to Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
Woodland Ave NE westbound
- Turn right onto Cheshire Bridge Rd NE northbound
- Turn left onto Lindbergh Dr. NE westbound
- Turn left onto Piedmont Rd NE southbound
- Piedmont Rd NE connects to Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
Lavista Rd NE westbound
- Continue west past Cheshire Bridge Rd NE onto Lindbergh Dr. NE
- Turn left onto Piedmont Rd NE southbound
- Piedmont Rd NE connects to Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
Wellbourne Dr. NE northbound
- Turn left onto Cheshire Bridge Rd NE westbound
- Turn right onto Piedmont Rd NE northbound
- Turn right onto Lindbergh Way NE eastbound
- Lindbergh Dr. NE intersects Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
More on Cheshire Bridge Road
The bridge reopened earlier this year after being closed for nearly 15 months due to a fire in 2021.
Just like in 2021, residents who live close by said they believed the fire started at a homeless encampment under the bridge, so we went to take a look.
Alex Hines lives next to Cheshire Bridge Road, where the fire erupted overnight. Hine said for months, he has been reporting activity under the bridge, hoping to prevent a fire similar to the one that occurred in 2021, but his complaints went unanswered.
"There’s always debris down there, and just because it is so close to the building, I'm afraid it’s going to catch my building on fire, so I’ve sent so many emails to the city, but they’ve all kinda gone ignored. They just close out our ticket every time I put them in," Hines said.
So 11Alive took an exclusive look under the bridge to see the fire hazard. 11Alive crews saw a lot of debris and what appeared to be a makeshift apartment -- equipped with walls. Those who frequent the areas said this is just a fraction of the activity they've seen under the bridge.
"I’ve seen people camped out on the railroad. I’ve seen fires started before, people throwing things at the trains, and I thought at the very least CSX railroad would be interested," resident Stephen McBride said.
However, McBride said his complaints to the railroad company also went unanswered.
For now, the normally busy road remains closed as officials asses the damage and determine if the bridge is safe to drive on-- an inconvenience to those who live close by.
"It’s concerning and also just really stressful, especially considering the bridge just reopened after a few years of being out of commission. I think it might be closed again," resident Eilish McNonogh added.
Officials said they are not done with their assessment and will continue to evaluate the damage before they can determine if and when the bridge can reopen.