A portion of United Avenue near the southside of the Beltline trail closed Monday after officials learned a bridge over the roadway there had a fractured beam.

The road closed Monday after Beltline officials discovered the pedestrian bridge above it had a fracture and several other bent beams, Beltline spokeswoman Jenny Odom said in an email to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A former railroad bridge, the structure dates back to 1914.

Beltline officials were already looking to demolish the bridge, Odom said.

The trail will remain open until demolition begins on the bridge, Odom said. A specific demolition date has not been announced, but Odom said Beltline officials are hoping to have the demolition and roadway reopened in two to three weeks.

“The bridge to be installed near term is for pedestrian and bike traffic,” she said in the email. “We would design it to accommodate the addition of a bridge for light rail in the future.”

In the meantime, officials are looking into safe trail connectivity options while the bridge is out of order. Those options include detour routes, crosswalks and a temporary bridge.

In other news:

Services will be held Monday at Ebenezer Baptist Church

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Joe Rich had moved to 3935 Paces Manor 2.5 year ago. on Tuesday, Sept. 22,2009, he was trapped at his house with no way out - but a boat. He has been ferrying various things back and forth and is surprised he still has power. Vinings residents were dealing with a major flooding issue Tuesday, as the Chattahoochee River made its way along the banks near Paces Ferry Road.  Many residents with upscale homes were hit hard, some for the second time since an earlier post millennia flooding episode. Since early Monday, seven lives have been taken and several other people remain missing. The record-setting rains also have closed schools and roads and have left people stranded in their homes. The river's level near Vinings was at 27.36 feet before daybreak Tuesday after cresting at 28.1 feet overnight. Flood stage is 14 feet, and anything above 20 feet is considered "major" flooding. (Photo: John Spink, jspink@ajc.com)

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Much of Georgia was under a Level 3 of 5 risk for severe weather on March 31, 2025. The far northern portion of the state was under a Level 2 and 1 risk.

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