Crippled Crane And Damaged Water Main Shut Midtown Roads

ATLANTA — Midtown traffic can be muddled Monday as street closures along two major roads will extend at least through the day.

Expect West Peachtree Street to remain closed through the end of the week, as workers repair the disabled construction crane hanging overhead.

That is the message from the general contractor that owns the crane that faltered Friday and has since been dangling from high above the construction site at 1105 West Peachtree.

Less than a mile away, Atlanta Watershed Manage reports that the intersection of 17th Street and Peachtree Street will remain closed until Tuesday due to water main repairs.

Although Watershed officials said the primary repairs reported on Saturday were completed that day, additional work was scheduled through Tuesday.

A statement released Sunday from Brasfield & Gorrie, the Birmingham-based construction company that owns and operates the damaged crane at 1105 West Peachtree, said a pair of mobile cranes were brought in over the weekend to help reinforce then dismantle the one currently dangling from high above the street.

“This portion of the process is necessary to safely dismantle the crane and is expected to continue through the evening and into tomorrow,” the Sunday statement said. “Once it is reinforced, the next step will be to begin safely dismantling the crane. The timeline of when that will be completed will be determined by the progress today, and we will share an update tomorrow."

Photo courtesy of Atlanta Fire & Rescue Department spokesman Capt. Cortez Stafford.

“Once the crane is safely dismantled, crews will need to disassemble the assist cranes that were brought in to complete this task. Because the disassembly of that additional equipment will take time, we expect West Peachtree to remain closed through the end of the week. We expect residents and neighboring businesses to be able to return before that time, once it has been deemed safe to return. We remain in communication with officials and property owners who are impacted by this situation.

Among the businesses closed as a result of the crane correction is the Midtown Branch of the U.S. Post Office and Passport Mega Center at 1079 West Peachtree Street. All retail operations and drop shipments have been moved to the Civic Center Post Office at 570 Piedmont Ave., NE, until further notice, according to a statement from the U.S. Postal Service. All passport services for the Passport Mega Center have been moved to the Atlanta Main Post Office located at 390 Crown Road, the statement said.

This is an ongoing story. Please return to Patch.com for updates.