Video: 700 barges backed up on the Mississippi due to cracked bridge
44 vessels with a total of 709 barges are queueing to transit the Mississippi at Memphis.
The USCG has said 44 vessels with a total of 709 barges are waiting to pass the I-40 Hernando DeSoto Bridge in Memphis, Tennessee. The bridge was closed after a major crack was found in one of its steel beams.
A waterway restriction closes the river to all vessel traffic between mile marker 736 and mile marker 737.
“River reopening is dependent on [Tennessee Department of Transportation] inspection results,” the Coast Guard said on Twitter.
The crack was found in a critical structural support near the central span of the bridge during a routine inspection by the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
“For the motoring public’s safety, the bridge will be entirely shut down while crews investigate the crack’s extent further and then repair the problem, which could take some time,” the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) said in an update.
