The Commercial Real Estate Impact of the Interstate 85 Fire

Midtown Atlanta

ATLANTA—Atlanta made headlines for all the wrong reasons last week when the northbound lane of Interstate 85 collapsed after a fire under the bridge. The section that connected the hot commercial real estate markets of Midtown and Buckhead were interrupted.

According to a study completed by INRIX, a transportation consulting firm, Atlanta has the fourth-worst traffic in the United States, with commuters losing an average of 70.8 hours to congestion on an annual basis. Based on observed traffic patterns on the day immediately after the collapse, says a CBRE report authored by Southeast research director Dan Wagner and Southeast research manager Brian Reed, it is not hyperbole to expect Atlanta’s congestion to immediately be worse than any other market in the country.