ATLANTA — Crews are making steady progress in the dismantling process of an unstable crane in Midtown Atlanta.
In the latest update, Brasfield & Gorrie said that overnight work allowed an engineer inspection of the crane. Following the inspection, crews moved to next steps in reinforcing the crane and moving toward the process to safely dismantle the crane. They still say the process to remove the crane will take “significant time.”
Channel 2′s Steve Gehlbach was in Midtown Monday afternoon, where some businesses already struggling with the pandemic were now struggling with this hassle.
The Soak and Polish luxury nail bar isn’t letting either crisis stop them. The owner of the business off of 12th street said they’ve had to cancel appointments and reschedule because clients have had trouble getting to them.
“I’m open,” Tajuansar Diallo said. “Don’t have the option to not be open. Got bills to pay.”
Nearby at Steamhouse Lounge, the restaurant and bar is also staying open, although it is quieter than normal.
“They have a detour sign at the end of the road,” bar manager Janelle Grindle said. “We made some signs that we’re still open and people could still get to the restaurant.”
Other places like McRay’s Pub and others directly in the crane’s path if it fell are still closed, including the post office.
“I’ve seen a lot of people trying to get in there. So its kind of a heartache for them, especially if they are counting on certain things to show up in the mail,” neighbor Jennifer Vatave said.
Some think that the construction company should be held responsible for taking away business.
“They need to find a solution, or compensate the business owners who are affected by this, because it’s not our fault,” a business owner said.
For the residents who were evacuated from one apartment building, it’s unclear when they will be able to go back home. The company is to shore up the crane enough to give them a window to briefly get back into their homes to grab clothes, medicine and food, which could happen as early as Monday night.
It was Friday when crews had to close down the area because one of the cranes began to hang precariously over the road.
[RELATED: West Peachtree to remain closed rest of week as crews work to dismantle dangling crane]
The crane, which weighs tons, forced people to move out of their apartments over the weekend.
On Sunday, some were able to go back inside and grab a few things.
[PHOTOS: Titled crane causes evacuations in Midtown]
“The Atlantic House has been extremely professional. They give us updates daily, more than one and their hoping were going to get in for a short period so we can get some necessities,” said resident Mike Christensen.
Construction workers for Brasfield and Gorrie said one of the hydraulic cylinders went bad causing the crane to lean. They rolled in more equipment used to lift workers nearly 30 stories high so they can take it apart.
They hope they can finish the job before the end of the week.
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