One cracked bridge. One person fired. A troubling rush to judgment raises major questions about bridge inspections
Officials blamed one man for failing to discover a crack in the DeSoto Bridge. But in exclusive interviews and emails, a complex picture emerges: of a systematic failure bigger than one employee
Monty Frazier (left), a heavy bridge inspector with the Arkansas Department of Transportation, is the only person who has been fired for overlooking the crack that formed in the Hernando DeSoto Bridge. (Shelly Frazier, Daily Memphian file)
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.
Topics
ARDOT 2021 bridge closing I-40 Infrastructure Hernando DeSoto BridgeMatt Stroud
Matt Stroud, a former correspondent for Bloomberg News and The Associated Press, is an investigative reporter with The Daily Memphian. He is the author of “Thin Blue Lie: The Failure of High-Tech Policing,” and the creator of the six-part podcast, “Guru: The Dark Side of Enlightenment.”
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