UPDATE: Crews began making temporary patches around 6:15 Monday, ARDOT says.
They patched five locations Tuesday, continued concrete patching Wednesday and expect to finish Thursday, according to Dave Parker with ARDOT.
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WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — Damage to the Hernando de Soto Bridge is so severe, crews will have to cut out some of the pavement and pour in new concrete, an Arkansas Department of Transportation official said Tuesday.
While crews have started on the work, the pouring rain makes it difficult to pour concrete at the moment, said Dave Parker with ARDOT.
Along eastbound Interstate 40 on the Arkansas side of the Hernando de Soto Bridge, it’s a bumpy and uncomfortable ride for many of the thousands of drivers who travel this stretch of roadway.
WREG camera captured video of the large potholes and exposed steel rods just as you’re leaving West Memphis and Crittenden County when approaching downtown Memphis.
WREG sounded the alarm Monday on large holes in the eastbound side of the bridge, which carries Interstate 40 between Memphis and Arkansas over the Mississippi River.
Exposed steel rebar could be seen through some of the holes.
WREG reached out to TDOT, ARDOT and the City of West Memphis about a possible timeline for repairs. Parker said he’s working on putting a timeline together.
A statement from the city said, “West Memphis is aware of the large potholes near the I-40 Hernando DeSoto Bridge. ARDOT crews are already on the ground working hard to fix the problem.”
TDOT told WREG that they contacted ARDOT about the problem since it’s on their side of the bridge and a crew was quickly dispatched to the area to begin making repairs over the weekend.
“Whenever there’s moisture and the water seeps into the cracks and then those potholes start popping up, we will have to shift to start making repairs,” said Nichole Lawrence, with TDOT Communications.
Earlier this year, both TDOT and ARDOT told Your News Leader those much-dreaded potholes would be coming.
“When you got a lot of precipitation coming down and you got a sudden shifting in temperature, you got the constant traffic going over Interstate 40 and 55 there in West Memphis, you’re going to have potholes,” said Dave Parker with ARDOT Communications.
Back in 2021, this same bridge was shut down for months after inspectors discovered a huge crack in a steel beam.
However, transportation leaders said this time, the damage isn’t considered dangerous and they don’t anticipate a need to close the bridge for pothole repairs.
