Achieving the Extraordinary Part 1

On the evening of March 30th, 2017, the unimaginable happened in Atlanta, GA.

In the middle of rush hour, a fire broke out underneath the Interstate 85 overpass heading into downtown.  A storage container that had high density polyethylene and fiberglass tubing as its contents was the source of the fire.  Within minutes the bridge was fully engulfed in flames.  The heat was so intense that it began to melt the steel infrastructure that held the bridge together.  About 1 hour after the bridge first caught on fire, it collapsed. 

I-85 through Atlanta is not just a significant artery for the city, but it is a major connecter for private and commercial traffic for the Southeastern United States.  It is estimated that over 243,000 vehicles travel over this bridge every day. Now it is gone. Disrupting the travel plans of hundreds of thousands for what many thought would be an untold number of months.

By 10pm the night of the collapse, the CW Matthews Construction had already been contracted to do the work.  Crews were enlisted to work around the clock, 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. The state government stepped up to ensure that the full resources of the state were made available. The Federal Government streamlined regulations.  The latest technology was used to ensure the safety of the workers and to keep the project on an unprecedented, 10-week schedule.

On May 15--just 43 days after the collapse, the bridge was completed--one full month ahead of schedule.

The I-85 bridge experience teaches us an important lesson.

Clear Vision + Coordinated Execution + Urgency = Extraordinary Results