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Georgia officials implement policy change after 2017 bridge collapse

Crews work on a section of an overpass that collapsed from a large fire on Interstate 85 in Atlanta, Friday, March 31, 2017. Many commuters in some of Atlanta's densely populated northern suburbs will have to find alternate routes or ride public transit for the foreseeable future after a massive fire caused a bridge on Interstate 85 to collapse Thursday, completely shutting down the heavily traveled highway. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Crews work on a section of an overpass that collapsed from a large fire on Interstate 85 in Atlanta, Friday, March 31, 2017. Many commuters in some of Atlanta's densely populated northern suburbs will have to find alternate routes or ride public transit for the foreseeable future after a massive fire caused a bridge on Interstate 85 to collapse Thursday, completely shutting down the heavily traveled highway. (AP Photo/David Goldman) Crews work on a section of an overpass that collapsed from a large fire on Interstate 85 in Atlanta, Friday, March 31, 2017. Many commuters in some of Atlanta's densely populated northern suburbs will have to find alternate routes or ride public transit for the foreseeable future after a massive fire caused a bridge on Interstate 85 to collapse Thursday, completely shutting down the heavily traveled highway. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

By Associated Press 2 min read

ATLANTA (AP) – The kinds of materials that fed a fire below a metro Atlanta highway overpass that collapsed last year will no longer be stored under state bridges, officials said.

The Georgia Department of Transportation has officially declared that “only non-combustible materials may be stored under bridges,” news outlets reported. The policy was finalized in April following the blaze that destroyed part of Interstate 85 in March 2017.

A department spokeswoman told WSB-TV on Monday the policy was formalized, and includes input from the state fire marshal’s office.

The department previously said it has stopped storing combustible material under Georgia bridges.

A homeless man, Basil Eleby, was accused of setting the fire, but the National Transportation Safety Board said last month that the material the department stored underneath had contributed to the flames.