The blaze started in a state-owned storage area beneath the bridge. Stacked there were coils of high-density polyethylene pipe and fiberglass conduit, materials the Georgia Department of Transportation had been keeping under the viaduct for years. Once ignited, the HDPE burned intensely and relentlessly. Fire crews rushed to the scene, but the heat was already warping the bridge deck overhead. At 7:14 PM, the northbound lanes gave way in a thunderous collapse. Firefighters brought the blaze under control by 8:00 PM, but the damage was done. An NTSB investigation later concluded that GDOT had contributed to the disaster by storing combustible materials in an unsafe location beneath the structure. A bridge that inspectors had rated in good condition just months earlier was now rubble.

I-85 is Atlanta's north-south lifeline, and the collapse severed it between the I-75 split and the State Route 400 interchange. Traffic diverted onto I-75, I-285, and SR 400, turning already strained alternate routes into gridlock. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed called it a "transportation crisis." Governor Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency. MARTA, the city's transit authority, extended its service hours immediately, and employers across the metro area scrambled to arrange telecommuting and staggered shifts. For 43 days, the missing span defined daily life in Atlanta. Commutes doubled. Businesses near the collapse reported devastating losses. The city learned, abruptly, just how much of its economic heartbeat depended on one stretch of elevated highway.

The repair contract went to C.W. Matthews Contracting Company, with up to $3 million in incentive payments authorized to accelerate the work. Three sections of northbound I-85 and three sections of the southbound lanes, which had not collapsed but were compromised by the heat, all had to be replaced. Crews worked around the clock. The total cost reached $15 million, with an additional $10 million in federal assistance pledged after President Donald Trump met with first responders two weeks after the collapse. On May 12, 2017, the northbound lanes reopened. The speed of the rebuild drew national attention, a rare bright spot in a story dominated by disruption and frustration.

The day after the collapse, police arrested three individuals found near the scene. Basil Eleby was charged with criminal trespass and first-degree criminal damage to property for starting the fire. Two others were charged with criminal trespass for being present. All three were believed to be homeless, though whether they had been living beneath the bridge remained unclear. Eleby was initially indicted on arson charges, but prosecutors offered a deal: complete an 18-month mental health and sobriety program, and the charges would be dropped. On February 28, 2020, Eleby graduated from the program. The resolution underscored how homelessness, infrastructure neglect, and public safety can collide in ways no one plans for.

By August 2017, a fence had been erected beneath the rebuilt viaduct to prevent unauthorized access. The storage area that once held combustible pipes was cleared. Today, traffic flows over the rebuilt span at Piedmont Road as if nothing happened. But the collapse left marks deeper than pavement. It exposed how casually critical infrastructure can be undermined by seemingly minor decisions, like where to store a pile of plastic pipe. Atlanta's 43 days without I-85 became a case study in urban vulnerability, a reminder that the roads connecting a modern city are only as strong as the maintenance and oversight behind them.