Red arrow. Metal parting mid-bridge.
Metal cracked. Inspectors found a “significant fracture” in one of two 900-foot horizontal steel beams that are crucial for the M Bridge’s structural integrity
Coast Guard idles 240 barges at bridge
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Mississippi River barge traffic was halted when an inspector found a structural crack in the M Bridge at Memphis. Repairs may take months. The U.S. Coast Guard said 16 tows with 220 barges were anchored, creating a choke on shipping from St. Paul and New Orleans. The six-lane bridge caries six lanes on transcontinental I-40. Ground transportation, including commuter traffic, was diverted to another bridge three miles downriver.
OM Bridge. Opened in 1973,. Carries 50,000 vehicles a day, a quarter of them trucks.Formally it’s the Hernando de Soto Bridge, named for a Spanish conquistador who explored the area in the early 1500s.