There are 52 article(s) tagged Hernando DeSoto Bridge:
A bill moving through the Tennessee General Assembly would make it a felony to block a roadway, a penalty enhancement intended to prevent another protest like the one that blocked the Hernando DeSoto bridge for hours earlier this month.
Protestors have taken or attempted to take the area’s Mississippi River bridges several times in recent years. How those protests are handled has differed among law enforcement agencies.
Because the I-55 bridge was closed for repairs, the pro-Palestine demonstration on the I-40 bridge caused all traffic across the Mississippi River at Memphis to shut down for nearly two hours.
Protesters said they came Saturday because they want local government to put pressure on the U.S. government for a ceasefire in Gaza. Protests around the country have sought to push local governments to adopt ceasefire resolutions.
“We’re seeing those bridge lights come on to honor the victims, to honor their families, to shine a light and attention on their needs, and also to shine the light of truth,” District Attorney Steve Mulroy said.
The National Weather Service predicts the Mississippi River at Memphis will reach its second-lowest level ever by Oct. 13. The drought is limiting barge traffic, just as crops harvested in the early fall need to be transported.
Hernando DeSoto Bridge vulnerabilities could have been detected four decades ago, ArDOT officials say.
Republican state senators question whether everything on the list is truly needed.
Leadership change comes as the Federal Highway Administration releases its assessment of Arkansas’ bridge inspection program, providing a list of 18 recommendations that hint at a variety of shortcomings.
Greater Memphis Chamber chief public policy officer Bobby White said planning construction could take a decade or more, most likely across the administrations of several presidents, governors and mayors.
The Hernando DeSoto Bridge reopened to all traffic — eastbound and westbound — 84 days after is was closed when Arkansas bridge inspectors noticed structural damage to a box beam on the north face of the span.
‘I would like to make clear that the initial phases for moving this project from a dream to eventual completion are in the hands of Gov. Bill Lee and the Tennessee Department of Transportation.’
The Tennessee Department of Transportation plans to move up the reopening of eastbound lanes of traffic on the Hernando DeSoto Bridge to Saturday evening, July 31.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation is expected to announce a more specific reopening schedule Wednesday, July 28.
‘Memphis doesn’t just move the world through its music — although Memphis is mentioned in songs more than any other city in the world. Memphis is indispensable when it comes to transportation, logistics and distribution, moving products around the world as an integral cog in the global supply chain.’
The initial estimate was a late July reopening for the Hernando DeSoto Bridge. TDOT officials also upped the number of replacement plates to be installed aside from the damage that prompted the closing of the interstate bridge from 16 to 17.
More than two months have passed since Monty Frazier’s firing from the Arkansas Department of Transportation, and he’s kept quiet. But now, he’s ready to talk.
Rep. David Kustoff reiterated familiar positions on the economy during remarks to the Arlington Chamber of Commerce Wednesday, as well as touching on the status of the Memphis Regional Megasite and Hernando DeSoto Bridge repairs.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation originally identified nine spots beyond the damage spotted in May that shut down all traffic on the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, but that has increased to 16.
Updated with: Is there a dashboard to keep up with the bridge status?
For decades, Memphians have crossed over to Arkansas to get their fireworks. That will be considerably harder with the bridge out. A report from the West Memphis fireworks tents. Will business be a dud?
Sorry, but it’s too soon to discuss reopening the I-40 bridge, a TDOT official says. Meanwhile, the delays in crossing I-55 cost the trucking industry about $900,000 a day, down from $2.4 million at the worst of the slowdown.
The 115-foot copy isn’t cracked like the real bridge, but passersby on U.S. 64 near Arlington are likely to slow down and do a double-take when they see the Hernando DeSoto Bridge on the roof of Caesar’s Wine & Liquor.
Bridges are magic. They connect, enable, overcome, elevate. They make big things possible when they weren’t before. They make it reachable for the many rather than the few, doable, accessible.