Effective immediately, the I-40 bridge, also known as the Hernando DeSoto “M” bridge, at the Tennessee/Arkansas border, which crosses over the Mississippi River will be closed.
The Arkansas DOT released a statement which said crews discovered a crack in the bridge.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) says the crack is on the bottom side of the bridge truss and the bridge will be shut down indefinitely. River traffic is shut down until further notice.
TDOT says contract crews will investigate the crack’s extent and make emergency repairs, including adding temporary shoring and replacing beams, but a definite timeline for completion is unknown at this time.
TDOT and Arkansas DOT share responsibility for the bridge.
During the shutdown, traffic is being re-routed in both directions to I-55.