All lanes of Memphis I-40 bridge are officially OPEN

Transportation officials in Arkansas and Tennessee say that the I-40 Hernando DeSoto Bridge in Memphis has fully reopened as of Monday afternoon.

According to the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), all westbound lanes of the I-40 bridge were open to traffic as of 3 p.m. on Monday, August 2.

All eastbound lanes were opened to traffic on Saturday night.

“Ramps previously closed along I-40 westbound will be reopening. The ramp from Metal Museum Drive to I-55 south will remain closed. The currently closed right lane from Riverside Drive to I-55 south will also remain closed. All other ramps around the I-55 and Crump interchange will be reopening.TDOT, ArDOT, and law enforcement agencies will closely monitor both river crossings as traffic returns to normal. We continue to ask motorists to pay attention to the interstate DMS, portable message boards, and SmartWay for specific traffic information. TDOT HELP trucks will begin to resume normal activities after the bridge is open,” TDOT said in a news release.

The bridge has been shut down since May 11, 2021, when a routine inspection uncovered a large crack in the structure and the bridge was deemed unsafe to cross. Since that time, traffic has been rerouted to I-55.

The detour was initially costing truckers an extra hour or more of driving time due to heavy traffic, but a series of lane changes implemented on June 9th cut delays to truckers down to approximately 15 minutes. The time saved cut costs to the trucking industry down from $2.4 million per day to about $936,000 each day.