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Nearly three months since the Interstate 40 bridge connecting Tennessee and Arkansas shut down, the roadway has fully reopened. According to FOX 17, the repairs were ahead of schedule, so the eastbound lanes reopened on Saturday night and the bridge fully reopened on Monday (August 2).
In early May, the Hernando de Soto Bridge passing over the Mississippi River was temporarily closed after crews discovered a massive crack in the steel beams, affecting the structural integrity of the well-traveled bridge. The closure affected traffic flow between the states and even affected barge traffic along the water.
So far, around $9.5 million has been spent on repairs, design and inspection since the bridge was shut down, the news outlet reports. The cost will be split between Tennessee and Arkansas.
A bridge inspector who carried out inspections of the bridge in 2019 and 2020 was fired after years-old drone footage showed the same fracture under the bridge that was not noted in any reports.
"We should have discovered the crack in this beam in 2019," Arkansas Department of Transportation Director Lorie Tudor said in May.
The incident was also referred to federal authorities for a possible criminal investigation that could ultimately lead to charges against the inspector, Tudor said. Additionally, all the bridges the employee inspected over the past year were being re-inspected.