Hernando de Soto Bridge over Mississippi River in Memphis reopens
A Memphis-area bridge over the Mississippi River has reopened following almost three months of emergency repair work after inspectors called 911 to report a large crack in a critical steel support beam.
The six-lane Hernando de Soto Bridge connecting Tennessee and Arkansas reopened to eastbound Interstate 40 traffic Saturday and in both directions Monday, according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
The bridge became a national example of the risks posed by the nation’s decaying infrastructure. The emergency repairs on the closed span created major traffic disruptions in the Memphis area while traffic was diverted to another bridge nearby.
“We know having the bridge closed has been incredibly inconvenient,” Tennessee Transportation Commissioner Clay Bright said in a statement. “We appreciate the public’s patience while our team made the repairs and performed extensive inspections to ensure it’s structurally sound for many years to come.”
The 3.3-mile bridge, built in the late 1960s to early 1970s, carries about 60,000 vehicles daily, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation, which shares responsibility for the span with the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
I-40 carries some of the highest proportions of truck traffic in the country, Tennessee officials said.
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Inspectors working for a private contractor discovered the crack May 11 during a routine inspection. They were so alarmed by the prospect of a catastrophic failure that they called 911.
Share this articleShare“We need to get people off the bridge immediately,” one inspector told a 911 dispatcher, according to audio posted by Fox13.
The interstate highway that crosses the bridge stretches from Wilmington, N.C., to Barstow, Calif.
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