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911 calls released after crack found in bridge

14 May 2021
16135
2021-05-14 12:44

Repairs to the Interstate 40 Bridge linking Arkansas and Tennessee could take months after a crack was found in the span. It forced thousands of trucks and cars to detour and shutting down shipping on a section of the Mississippi River. The six-lane bridge into Memphis was shut down Tuesday afternoon after inspectors found a "significant fracture" in one of two 900-foot horizontal steel beams that are crucial for the bridge's integrity.

Traffic was being rerouted to Interstate 55 and the 71-year-old Memphis & Arkansas Bridge, about 3 miles south. Both states' transportation agencies said they would make sure the 48-year-old bridge is safe before reopening.

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