Pete Buttigieg Cites Importance of I-40 Bridge Repair
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Phase 2 of the two-part effort to repair the Interstate 40 bridge is underway, according to transportation officials.
Known as the Hernando de Soto Bridge, the structure carries I-40 across the Mississippi River and links Memphis, Tenn., and West Memphis, Ark. The bridge was closed to vehicular and marine traffic May 11 after a mechanical fracture was discovered during a routine inspection. While the structure remains closed to vehicular traffic, waterway restrictions for vessels moving beneath the bridge were lifted May 14.
The second part of the repair effort, roughly expected to take a couple of months, will involve the installation of steel plating adjacent to the damaged area, bypassing the fracture components, removing a small piece of the fractured steel and leaving the bulk of the existing box section in place. The Arkansas Department of Transportation said June 1 several teams are onsite inspecting, weld testing and performing routine maintenance, such as cleaning out drains. Kiewit Infrastructure Group has been contracted for the emergency repair of the bridge.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on June 3 paid a visit to Memphis to tour the bridge and deliver remarks. He also participated in a roundtable discussion with business and government leaders at a FedEx Corp. facility in Memphis, which is the company’s headquarters. FedEx ranks No. 2 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.
“It is important that we restore this connection quickly because, like so much of the Memphis region, it is an area of national logistical importance,” Buttigieg said. “This doesn’t just impact all of us who might travel in our personal lives on these roads, but a lot of workers are impacted by this, workers who may live a long way away but they come through this community several times a week.”
The bridge closure has been a costly interruption for the trucking industry. Arkansas Trucking Association President Shannon Newton estimated the closure is costing the trucking industry about $2.4 million each day.
According to the Arkansas Trucking Association, the I-40 bridge typically carries about 40,000 vehicles daily, some 12,500 of which are commercial trucks.
In the meantime, traffic is being diverted to the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge, which carries I-55 over the Mississippi River and is located about three miles south of the I-40 bridge. The Arkansas Trucking Association estimated the I-55 bridge already carried about 55,000 vehicles per day, some 14,000 of which are trucks.
The roundtable took place as infrastructure package negotiations continue among federal leaders. Speaking alongside Buttigieg, Robert Moore, chairman of the Arkansas State Highway Commission, said the I-40 bridge crack has put on “the bright lights that it’s time to stop the talk and bring on the action” in terms of a federal infrastructure package.
When a bridge like the Hernando de Soto cracks, it threatens businesses, commuters, and the regional economy. Glad to have met with some of the workers relying on the bridge and the leaders working to fix it. pic.twitter.com/wKZmwXDght — Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) June 3, 2021
“You have industries, truckers, that [are] going from one part of the country to the next side of the country, so definitely an infrastructure plan has to be important for this country,” said West Memphis Mayor Marco McClendon. “This bridge being down behind us is true evidence that an infrastructure plan must be [done] in Washington to help the people of the United States.”
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