Lane Closures on I-40 Bridge Over the Mississippi River Begin September 7

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Workers with the Tennessee Department of Transportation will reduce the Interstate 40 Hernando DeSoto Bridge over the Mississippi River near Memphis to one lane in each direction for approximately two months, beginning 9:00 a.m., September 7, 2010. Crews must reduce traffic on both the east and westbound side of the bridge to one lane in order to safely install a new seismic expansion joint along bridge piers located near the Riverside Drive exit. Located only sixty miles south of the New Madrid Fault, TDOT is reinforcing this nearly forty-year-old structure to be earthquake resistant.

 

“The Hernando DeSoto Bridge is vital to both commuters and businesses, so it’s critical we continue working to make it capable of withstanding a major earthquake,” said TDOT Region Four Director Chuck Rychen.  “I know reducing the bridge to one lane in both directions will have a major impact on many motorists, but TDOT is working closely with all emergency response agencies to do everything possible to ease congestion on both this bridge and on the I-55 crossing.”

 

For the last several months, TDOT Help Unit Incident Managers have held meetings with the contractor OCCI, Inc. and representatives from emergency response agencies, including the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Memphis Police Department, and Arkansas Highway Police. The agencies have developed a coordinated incident response plan to quickly address traffic problems on either of the two Mississippi River crossings. In addition, TDOT previously installed a gate along the median barrier wall on the eastern side of the I-40 Bridge which can be opened to allow emergency vehicles to access the opposite side of the bridge quickly in the event of a major incident.

 

During the next ten weeks, the contractor will remove the old bridge joint located near the Riverside Drive exit and replace it with a new seismic bridge joint designed to withstand the movement caused by an earthquake. 

 

“This is the next step in the major process of making the bridge capable of handling a 7.7 magnitude earthquake,” said Fred Stephenson with TRC, Inc. “This is critical because the I-40 Bridge is one of just two crossings over the Mississippi near Memphis and the I-55 Bridge cannot be seismically retrofitted.”

 

The next closest crossings over the Mississippi are located approximately 85 miles away on I-155 between Missouri and Dyer County, Tennessee north of Memphis and to the south on U.S. 49 between Helena, Arkansas and Mississippi. Interstate 40 has one of the highest truck traffic percentages in the United States, and is a major artery through the center of America. 

 

Work on this part of the seismic retrofit project is broken into three phases. Phase 1 was completed and opened to traffic Saturday, August 21, 2010, three days early. Phase 2 begins September 7, 2010 immediately following rush hour, at approximately 9:00 a.m. The two left lanes of I-40 will be closed at the Riverside Drive interchange. Ramps to Front Street and Riverside Drive will remain open. All wide loadswill be diverted to the Memphis-Arkansas I-55 Bridge.  Phase 3 will begin in mid-October and last through the week of November 15. The two right lanes of I-40 will be closed as will the I-40 westbound entrance ramp from Front Street and Riverside Drive. All wide loads and over height loads will be diverted to I-155 in Dyersburg.

In order to ease traffic congestion along Interstate 55 during phases two and three of the seismic work TDOT will close the ramp that carries westbound Crump Boulevard traffic onto southbound Interstate 55. Motorists will be detoured onto Florida Street to South Parkway back to Interstate 55 South. Also closed will be the ramp that carries southbound Interstate 55 traffic onto northbound Riverside Drive. Motorists will be detoured onto Florida Street to Georgia Avenue to Riverside Drive. Around 45,000 – 50,000 vehicles use the I-40 bridge each day, while another 48,000 to 50,000 utilize the I-55 bridge daily. 

 

TDOT is partnering with the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department to conduct the seismic retrofit of the Hernando DeSoto (I-40) Bridge. The federal government is providing 80 percent of the funding with Tennessee and Arkansas sharing the remaining 20 percent.  The first contract on the I-40 Hernando Desoto Bridge began in the spring of 2000, and the main section of the bridge over the river has been totally rehabilitated. The main piers are now constructed to flex on their foundations. Isolation bearings on top of the concrete pier columns allow movement to be dispersed by freely sliding under the deck. Cost of the project to date is in excess of $175 million, and estimates for completing the retrofit are approximately $75 million.

For more information on this project visit the project web page at www.tn.gov/tdot/i40hd/default.htm. For up-to-date travel information visit the TDOT SmartWay website at www.tn.gov/tdot/tdotsmartway/ or dial 5-1-1 from any land-line or cell phone. For travel tweets in the Memphis area follow @Memphis511 on Twitter or follow @TN511 for statewide alerts.

 

Motorists are reminded to use all travel information tools wisely. Know Before You Go! and avoid texting, tweeting, or using a cell phone while driving.

  

 

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