I-40 Bridge Over Mississippi Could Be Shut Down For Months; Inspectors Called 911 | The Weather Channel - Articles from The Weather Channel | weather.com - The Weather Channel

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• The crack was found in a routine inspection.
• The bridge connects Arkansas with Memphis, Tennessee.
• Weather plays a role in wear and tear on bridges.

A busy interstate bridge over the Mississippi River could remain shut down for months after a crack was found in a steel support beam.

The Interstate 40 bridge that connects Arkansas with Memphis, Tennessee, was closed Tuesday after the crack was found during a routine inspection. River traffic under the bridge was also halted.

Inspectors were so alarmed by the crack that they called 911 to warn that traffic on the bridge needed to be stopped immediately.

“We just found a super critical finding that needs traffic shut down in both directions on the I-40 Mississippi River bridge," one of them told a 911 operator, according to audio obtained by WREG-TV.

"We need to get people off the bridge immediately.”

In another call, a different inspector said: "We just need police cars out here. To get the traffic off the bridge."

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Arkansas Department of Transportation Director Lorie Tudor said in a news conference Wednesday that the crack had "the potential of becoming a catastrophic event" had it not been caught.

The cause of the damage was still under investigation, but Tudor and other officials said stress caused by wear and tear on the 50-year-old bridge was likely a factor.

The Interstate 40 bridge over the Mississippi River is shut down indefiinitely due to this crack found during a routine inspection on Tuesday, May 11, 2021.

(Arkansas Department of Transportation via Twitter)

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It wasn't yet known how long the bridge will be shut down or exactly what will be done to repair it.

Arkansas and Tennessee share responsibility for maintaining the I-40 bridge, also known as the Hernando DeSoto Bridge or "M" bridge.

The crack is in one of two horizontal support beams, Arkansas DOT Deputy Director and Chief Operations Officer Rex Vines said. It wasn't noted on the bridge's last inspection, which was in September.

Photos released by the DOT Wednesday afternoon showed the crack. Both portions of the steel beam on either side of it appeared to be no longer aligned.

The bridge first opened to traffic in 1973. More than 41,000 vehicles cross it each day, Tudor said. Traffic was being rerouted to the Interstate 55 bridge.

Assistant Chief Engineer Steve Frisbee said weather plays a role in wear and tear on bridges, but probably didn't directly cause this specific issue.

“Other than rusting that just occurs on a bridge naturally I can’t imagine that this particular crack, the weather would have affected it," Frisbee said. "However, our bridges, due to expansion and contraction of temperature, that’s why these bridges move. So weather is always a factor. “

Vines said the crack was unusual.

“I don’t believe this is a common occurrence," he said.

This photo shows the crack that shut down the Interstate 40 bridge across the Mississippi River on Tuesday, May 11, 2021.

(Tennessee Department of Transportation via Twitter)

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