Every day, 40,000 cars cross the I-40 Hernando DeSoto bridge between Memphis, Tennessee, and Arkansas. The bridge, built in 1973, was made of corrugated metal and twisted steel, towering above the muddy banks of the Mississippi River.
In 2021, a worker with the Arkansas Department of Transportation discovered a major crack in one of the steel support beams during a routine inspection. The fracture was so severe that the bridge was closed for three months for emergency repairs, costing approximately $10
Source: NDT
