ATLANTA — The state of Georgia is asking the federal government for more money to cover the cost of repairing the Interstate 85 overpass damaged by fire.
Channel 2's Richard Elliot spoke with the governor and the Georgia Department of Transportation commissioner, who both said the demolition project is ahead of schedule, but there is still a long way to go.
Work crews essentially finished the demolition on the I-85 overpass Monday morning, allowing lanes of Piedmont Road to reopen.
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At an afternoon news conference, Deal thanked those workers and thanked the public for its patience so far.
“I want to say to the public thank you for your patience. I want to you to be assured that we are doing everything in our power to get things back to normal,” Deal said.
Police arrested one man and charged him with intentionally setting the fire inside a GDOT storage yard underneath I-85.
Coils of PVC pipe caught fire, fueling the flames and causing one section of overpass to collapse.
[Officials say I-85 bridge repairs will take months]
GDOT commissioner Russell McCurry said they are working with state and federal investigators.
“We have preserved evidence at the request of the investigators and also to the NTSB, so we have done that and fully cooperated with them,” McMurry said.
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President Donald Trump and the secretary of transportation already offered the state $10 million to help defray the costs of repairs, but Deal said he sent a letter Monday morning asking for financial aid.
"To cover the cost of increased use of MARTA, of GRTA buses and of Cobb and Gwinnett county transit systems.
[PHOTOS: I-85 bridge collapse aftermath]
As far as when the road will be repaired and reopened, they couldn't say but they said things at least for now are ahead of schedule.
“It has been one of catastrophe that we've been dealing with since Thursday, but I’m here to tell you today that I feel very confident that we've hit our marks so far,” McMurry said.
Deal said the state will also offer financial incentives to get this job done fast.
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