The Coast Guard has reopened the Mississippi to river traffic three days after it was closed because of a structural crack in the Hernando de Soto Bridge in Memphis. More than 45 tugs hauling 700 barges had been waiting for clearance on both sides of the bridge. We don’t have any word about how many recreational boats also were affected by the closure.
The Coast Guard closed the river to all traffic between mile 736 and 737 after a crack was found in one of two 900-feet-long horizontal steel beams that are critical to the bridge’s integrity. Authorities said repairs to the bridge, which remains closed, could take months.
Built in 1973, the bridge carries traffic on Interstate 40 from downtown Memphis across the Mississippi River to Arkansas. It is 1.8 miles long, with six lanes, and is a major transportation hub for vehicle, rail and water traffic.
An engineer found the crack during the first inspection of the bridge since 2019. He placed an urgent call to 911, saying, “We need to get people off the bridge immediately.”
The bridge is north of the Tenn-Tom Waterway, so a closure meant a delay for anyone cruising on the Mississippi or doing the Great Loop. It is just the latest problem on the Loop this year; the Canadian border is closed indefinitely, and parts of the Illinois River, connecting Chicago with the Mississippi, will be closed in the fall for repairs to locks. Read more:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/i-40-bridge-crack-tennessee-arkansas/
