As darkness fell on fire-damaged I-85 in downtown Atlanta last April, uncertainty was as pervasive as the smoke and rubble. How extensive was the damage beyond the collapsed 700-ft section of elevated highway, what repair and replacement options were feasible, and how long would it take to restore one of the city’s primary highway corridors?
Adam Grist, vice president of structures for contractor C.W. Matthews Contracting Co. Inc., led the Georgia Dept. of Transportation’s emergency effort to turn answers into action. Capitalizing on nearly 24/7 collaboration and communication between DOT and the jobsite, Grist oversaw more than 100 hourly workers and supervisors who would invest about 35,000 staff-hours to condense into just six weeks the originally estimated three months of demolition and repair. Agency Commissioner Russell McMurry called it “probably the most inspected, most scrutinized construction project Georgia DOT has ever undertaken.”