Mississippi River Bridge at Memphis closed due to crack

The Hernando de Soto Bridge over the Mississippi River that connects West Memphis, Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee via I-40 was closed Tuesday afternoon after engineers discovered a structural crack.

Keith Ingram, an Arkansas state senator tweeted earlier that the crack was on a support beam and would “likely take a considerable amount of time to inspect and fix.”

Based on my conversations with the AR Department of Transportation, the crack on the I-40 Hernando de Soto bridge is on a support beam and will likely take a considerable amount of time to inspect and fix. As per an agreement, Tenn officials will take the lead on repairs. (1/2)

— Keith Ingram (@KeithIngramAR) May 11, 2021

The Arkansas Department of Transportation in their announcement of the closure gave no timetable for reopening the 19,535 foot bridge which carries in around 40,000 vehicles per day.

Traffic is being rerouted to I-55 at this time. If this continues for an extended period of time, we could see an uptick in commercial traffic in our area.

UPDATE: #40MSRiverBridge will remain closed through the night. Updates will continue here but you can also check the app/website!

Drivers are being redirected by Law Enforcement personnel – but it’s going to take time to untangle the traffic. Bear with us! #artraffic #neatraffic pic.twitter.com/pnYiBen69e

— IDrive Arkansas (@IDriveArkansas) May 11, 2021