MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)– The U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg traveled to Tennessee on Thursday to learn how the closure of the Interstate 40 bridge connecting that state and Arkansas have affected freight movement since it was shut down more than three weeks ago when then the crack was found in the span.
Buttigieg met with regional transportation officials at a FedEx Corp. facility in Memphis before a planned tour of the Hernando De Soto bridge and a news conference later Thursday. Shipping giant FedEx operates its massive fleet of airplanes and trucks out of its headquarters in Memphis, which has seen road traffic problems since the I-40 bridge spanning the Mississippi River was closed and vehicles were diverted to the nearby Interstate 55 bridge.
Sources say, according to federal transportation officials, the cracked bridge has served as a symbol of bridge decay in the U.S., which has 45,000 bridges in poor condition and faces a trillion-dollar backlog in needed repairs.
“Safety is at the heart of what’s happening at the De Soto bridge,” Buttigieg said during the discussion at FedEx. “I know that that protracted closure has been frustrating, it has been difficult, it has been challenging, and it has been costly.”
I-40 is a key artery for U.S. commerce, running from North Carolina to California. Manufacturers, shippers, and trucking companies rely on the interstate to move products and materials across the Mississippi River. When the 47-year-old, six-lane I-40 bridge is open, about 50,000 vehicles typically travel across it, with about a quarter of those being commercial trucks, Tennessee transportation officials say.
The I-40 bridge was shut down on May 11 after inspectors found a crack in one of two 900-foot (275-meter) horizontal steel beams that are critical for the bridge’s instructional integrity. Inspectors looking at the four-lane, 71-year-old I-55 bridge have found no problems in the span so far as they assess its long-term ability to handle increased road traffic.
A timetable for the I-40 bridge’s reopening has not been established — officials have said the bridge could be closed for months. Engineers have installed steel plates on each side of the fractured beam and are building a platform to hold heavy equipment necessary for permanent repairs.
Officials said the second step of the project, which includes removing and replacing the damaged piece of the beam, is ongoing.
