TREUTLEN COUNTY, Ga. — A day after a truck crash caused a bridge to shift nearly 6 feet, crews have completely removed the entire structure over a major Georgia interstate and have completely reopened it.
The bridge over Interstate 16, located between Macon and Savannah, was demolished overnight into Friday and now crews have reopened all lanes of the roadway.
[PHOTOS: Damage to I-16 bridge in Georgia]
Early Thursday, a dump truck with its trailer up hit the Georgia 86 bridge and shifted it. Engineers said they’ve never seen anything like that before.
Gov. Brian Kemp went out to the site on Friday and thanked crews for their hard work to get the interstate back open.
“This team is getting it done a lot quicker than we ever thought it would,” Kemp said.
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He also talked about the importance of getting the interstate back open because it’s a major route to the Port of Savannah.
“The traffic coming to and from the port is vitally important, especially if you’re a merchant trying to get goods coming out of the port or if you’re a merchant or exporter trying to get goods overseas,” Kemp said.
Former Gwinnett County resident Joan Irvin told Channel 2′s Tony Thomas that she doesn’t mind the heavy traffic in her small town of 650 people -- at least for the short term.
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“I feel like I was back in Atlanta again because it was bumper to bumper,” Irvin said. “We’ve never seen anything like this. We are just a small place.”
She might not have to wait that long for empty streets again.
“I don’t want to be out there in it, but I love watching it. I’ve never seen so many tractor-trailer trucks in my life,” Irvin said.
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