ATLANTA — A large crane that blocked several lanes of Peachtree Road on Tuesday has been removed. It was never approved to be there, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The crane, which was put in place over the weekend, caused major traffic headaches for drivers.
The northbound and southbound lanes were closed near Pharr Road.
GDOT spokeswoman Natalie Dale said the developer, Rhode Island-based Gilbane Building Co., applied for a permit, but it was not approved. She said the construction company then moved the crane into place anyway.
DOT tells @wsbradio developer responsible for crane blocking lanes on P'tree at Pharr in Buckhead does NOT have a permit; crane is disabled with parts on order from overseas @WSBTraffic
— Chris Camp (@WSBCamp) December 18, 2018
“It’s a huge impact, an adverse impact, on quality of life in this area," said Buckhead resident Cindy Smith.
It's affected not only drivers, but emergency response as well.
VIDEO: Ambulance caught in major traffic tie up on Peachtree Rd. in Buckhead due to massive crane blocking 3 lanes. @GADeptofTrans confirmed contractor shut down lanes and put up crane WITHOUT permission.
— Aaron Diamant (@AaronDiamantWSB) December 18, 2018
We’re working to get answers from the contractor @GilbaneBuilding. @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/mShlYytefw
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“We would never have permitted this," Dale said. “When we learned of this, we told them basically, 'You need to get your crane out of the middle of our road.'”
With all the dangerous work going on, Channel 2's Aaron Diamant couldn't get near any of the site managers so he headed to the building's leasing office.
Diamant received a statement from Gilbane saying:
"We understood our subcontractor had filed the right paperwork and received the proper approvals to have a crane in that location. We are working with the Georgia Department of Transportation and the City of Atlanta Police Department to complete the necessary and safe removal of the crane as soon as possible."
The crane was removed after being taken apart piece by piece, using multiple tow trucks. The plan is to have the roads back open by rush hour Wednesday morning.
Cox Media Group
