Crittenden County official says I-40 bridge will begin reopening Sunday night

[The Legion]

https://www.wreg.com/news/i-40-bridge/crittenden-county-official-says-i-40-bridge-reopening-will-begin-sunday-night/

Posted: Jul 27, 2021 / 06:00 PM CDT / Updated: Jul 27, 2021 / 06:28 PM CDT

 

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Crittenden County Judge Woody Wheeless said Tuesday that the Interstate 40 bridge from Memphis to Arkansas will begin reopening Sunday night.

In a post to his Facebook page, Wheeless wrote that eastbound lanes will open Sunday night into Monday morning. Westbound lanes will open a few days later.

WREG has reached out to Department of Transportation representatives in Tennessee in Arkansas. TDOT confirms there is a reopening plan, but there are a few things that must be taken care of first.

“Yes, I can confirm TDOT has an opening plan for the I-40 bridge. Late this afternoon we started crafting our message. I will be sending out the press release with the plan mid-morning tomorrow. There are several things that have to be checked and verified before notifying everyone,” said Nicole Lawrence, TDOT Community Relations.

The Hernando DeSoto Bridge carried nearly 40,000 vehicles on I-40 until it was shut down for repairs May 11 after inspectors found a large crack in a metal beam.

As of last Friday, Tennessee Department of Transportation said the reopening had likely been pushed to early August. TDOT was to begin stress testing the bridge Wednesday.

[Shorty]

So TDOT appoach appears to be "Let's check and plan a reasonable opening" while ARDOT is"F@$k it, we'll do it live!".

[The Legion]

East bound lanes are open at this time. TDOT says the westbound lanes are still scheduled to reopen on August 6, but there’s a possibility they could reopen sooner.

[Alleycat72]

Last time I went through Memphis we detoured around the bridge. My buddy was driving and he tried to take a better route then everyone one else. Next thing I know he's looking at my handgun and said " HEY,...CHAMBER A ROUND IN THAT M/FER". I laughed my azz off as I chambered a round. The multi millionaire in the back seat was not happy and didn't understand why I was so amused. 

[Grayfox54]

Just  announced on the local news. The I-40 Bridge is now completely open to traffic both ways. 

TDOT said they got the construction clean up done ahead of schedule and reopened earlier than expected. 

[The Legion]

I was at Bass Pro this afternoon and the bridge is open.