Steel rods could be attached to the Hernando-DeSoto Bridge for a temporary repair that could reopen the bridge to vehicle traffic, transportation officials announced Friday afternoon.
Officials with the The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) released some preliminary findings Friday after three days “of intense and thorough analysis.” These departments were joined by consultants Michael Baker Inc. and HNTB.
Officials found “there is no indication that the bridge is continuing to deteriorate.” With that, and an “extensive bridge modeling program,” the U.S. Coast Guard made the decision to reopen the river to traffic at 9 a.m. After public safety, river traffic was the group’s first priority, vehicle traffic was second, and third was reviewing the bridge for long-term issues related to the original failure.
For now, “the design team is working on an interim repair design concept that contemplates using steel rods that would be attached to the bridge and span over the fractured section, and provide the needed strength to reopen the bridge to vehicular traffic.” That repair would allow time for a new bridge component to be built and replace the now-damaged 37-foot-long section. The team is also considering “the benefits of installing a steel plate to beef up the fractured section and thus increase our factor of safety for the existing configuration.”