Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee traveled to Memphis Tuesday to assess progress on the Hernando de Soto bridge repair and meet with Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
The governor asked the federal government to take immediate action on infrastructure.
“We are making swift progress on repairs to the Hernando de Soto bridge to ensure safety and a return to uninterrupted commerce,” Lee said. “While Congress ponders the definition of infrastructure, we call upon the federal government to prioritize the safety of actual roads and bridges.”
On May 11, inspectors discovered a mechanical fracture in a steel support beam in the Hernando DeSoto Bridge on I-40. The fracture is critical to the structure of the bridge, leading to the bridge being shut down until further notice.
Built in the late 1960s, the bridge is one of only two crossings on the Mississippi River in the Memphis area, making it a vital link for transportation, commerce, and defense. The 3.3-mile-long bridge carries an estimated 60,000 vehicles a day.
While Shelby County received $182 million from the American Rescue Plan, and the city of Memphis received $161 million, those funds are expressly prohibited from being spent on road, highway, or bridge projects. And while the American Jobs Plan would spend an estimated $2 trillion, the governor’s office said, only 5.6 percent ($128.8 billion) of that would be dedicated to roads and bridges.
“We will continue investing in infrastructure for the safety of our citizens and the strength of our economy,” Lee said. “I commend the State of Arkansas, the Coast Guard, and the Army Corps of Engineers for their work and look forward to meaningful action out of Congress to address the condition of our roads and bridges across the country.”
On May 17, the Tennessee Department of Transportation announced the emergency bridge repair project was awarded to Kiewit Infrastructure Group, which will conduct the repair in two phases.
During a press conference, the two governors said fixing the bridge is critical, but Lee noted it could be several months before repairs are completed.
Drone teams are inspecting the I-55 bridge to ensure its safety while it serves as the detour for I-40. Officials said it was out of an abundance of caution.
Tennessee Department of Transportation officials said an investigation into the crack found that the same employee who inspected the bridge in 2019 and 2020 failed to notice the crack. Officials said the employee was terminated, and the information was turned over to federal authorities for possible criminal investigation. All of the bridges inspected by the terminated employee will be re-inspected, officials said.