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At Large Opinion

Warning Shot

Some of you may remember that back in 2015 the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) announced plans to shut down the I-55 bridge over the Mississippi in Memphis for nine months. TDOT said it needed to do so in order to install a “roundabout” interchange on the Memphis end of the bridge. The entire project was to begin in early 2017 and last through November 2019, effectively screwing up traffic across the bridge and through South Memphis for two years.

It didn’t happen. And that’s mainly because some people with common sense (including this newspaper’s staff) raised hell against it, pointing out that shutting down the “old bridge” was a nightmare scenario, one that would funnel 100,000 vehicles a day (double its then-current traffic count) across the Hernando DeSoto Bridge and expose the entire Central U.S. to a potential shutdown of commerce should something happen to the one remaining bridge.

Over in West Memphis, state Senator Keith Ingram’s hair was on fire. He rightly pointed out that the shutdown would “devastate local economies throughout Eastern Arkansas and would cripple emergency services in the event of an accident or natural disaster.”

The late Phil Trenary, president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber, cited a post-9/11 study that showed that closing both of the city’s bridges would have a negative economic impact of about $11 billion to $15 billion per year, adding that the impact on business would be “significant to not only the local economy but to the national economy.”

The Flyer’s Toby Sells wrote a comprehensive cover story on the subject. We editorialized against the shutdown vociferously and often. Eventually, thanks to building public, political, and business opposition, the TDOT plan was mothballed, hopefully forever. The area’s leaders came to recognize that Memphis would be in big trouble if we ever got down to one bridge.

Oops.

As we all know, thanks to the discovery of a fissure in a structural beam on the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, the feared “down-to-one-bridge” scenario has happened. And as was predicted in 2015, traffic is backed up on I-40, through the city, and on the south I-240 loop, as 80,000 vehicles a day are funneled across a narrow highway bridge built 70 years ago to handle one-fourth that amount of traffic.

Imagine if the break on the Hernando DeSoto Bridge had been discovered in, say, June 2017, during TDOT’s proposed shutdown. Or worse, imagine if something should go awry on the I-55 bridge now. Can you say Helena, Arkansas? Or Dyersburg, Tennessee? Those are the nearest two Mississippi River crossings. Local — and national — commerce would suffer a horrific hit.

But thankfully the TDOT bridge-closure didn’t happen in 2017. People raised hell. The bureaucrats were stopped. Now, with any luck, the “new bridge” gets fixed in the next couple months, and we get back to normal. But we need a new normal. There’s a lesson to be learned here, and the time to act on it is now.

We have two bridges, both over a half-century old, both facing deterioration and maintenance issues. It’s obvious that Memphis needs a third bridge across the Mississippi. And it isn’t just about Memphis. It’s about the entire interstate commerce system through the middle of America, North and South, relying on a rickety, aging infrastructure that was built for the 1960s and 1970s. A new bridge addresses current and future issues. It could integrate with the I-69 corridor and maybe even incorporate space for future high-speed rail. Why not think big?

It’s not like we’d be asking for the moon. St. Louis has six major bridges across the Mississippi. Davenport, Iowa, has three. Hell, Dubuque, Iowa, has two bridges. We’re tied with Dubuque, people. It’s in our interest and in the country’s interest to plan for the future, not to wait until the two extant bridges fall completely apart. Officeholders and business leaders from Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi need to get together and form a commission to explore the best way to get this moving.

Patching a crack with overlaid slabs of steel is a temporary solution, a band-aid that doesn’t address the overarching issues of a deteriorating infrastructure. Moving toward getting a new bridge should become a priority now — not when we’re forced to deal with another bridge shutdown. We’ve been shown a glimpse of the future. It’s time to face it, realistically.

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News Blog News Feature

MEMernet: Follow West Memphis Facebook for Bridge Updates

If you want near-daily updates on the repairs of the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, follow the City of West Memphis on Facebook.

The city provides regular updates on the repairs, which range from general updates for the public to technical, in-the-weeds descriptions of the work being done, and images of the work you won’t likely see anywhere else. It all makes the city’s Facebook page a go-to site if you want to know what’s going on out there.

For example, on Monday the city said the “contractor is making significant progress on the repairs.” For true bridge-repair enthusiasts, the city noted that “in-depth ultrasonic weld testing inspections of the I-40 bridge” were continuing Monday.

On Tuesday, the page offered that “both PT weldments/anchors were delivered this weekend and are being installed. The first anchor is 50 percent complete. Installation of the second anchor will start as soon as today. Steel-strengthening plates and splice plates for the permanent repair are being fabricated.”

Sounds like forward motion, to this layman, anyway.

But another piece of information is easier to understand, especially for anyone using I-55.

“A second lane was added over the weekend to the I-55 southbound ramp to help alleviate some congestion and advance flow through the Crump Interchange,” the city reported on Facebook. “Crews also repaired some damaged pavement on I-55 northbound.”

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News News Blog News Feature

TDOT Animation Shows Bridge Repair Steps

The Tennessee Department of Transportation shared a short video Monday showing exactly how the Hernando DeSoto Bridge will be repaired.

Officials have still not given a firm timeline for completion of the repairs but said the work could last through July.

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Letter From The Editor Opinion

Ponder This

Last week, with little time to spare, I scrapped a perfectly serviceable column intended for this space. Inspired by a ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline and a “crack” in the Hernando DeSoto Bridge, my debut editor’s column was almost about infrastructure — more specifically, it was almost about expanding our definition of infrastructure. Little did I know that just as I was switching gears to write an entirely different kind of column, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee was using a stop in Memphis to review bridge repairs as an excuse to take jabs at President Joe Biden and Congress for taking the time to ponder “the definition of infrastructure.”

Boy, was I kicking myself when I saw that. Had I stuck with my original column topic, I would have looked like a genius, like I had somehow foreseen Lee’s statement, which was released just after our print deadline. But we had already gone to press, so there was nothing that could be done. Luckily, it looks like we’ll be debating the definition of infrastructure for a while, so this is still topical a week later.

What, exactly, is wrong with pondering the definition of infrastructure? Perhaps Gov. Lee has forgotten that language is fluid; it changes over time to reflect the needs of a changing society. And the country (and Memphis) has changed since the bridge in question was built.

It’s worth noting that construction on the Hernando DeSoto Bridge was completed in 1973. That’s two years after Fred Smith bought Arkansas Aviation Sales and founded FedEx, but years before FedEx would be used as a verb meaning “to ship something quickly” (an example of changing language), or before its headquarters would be moved to Memphis. How many FedEx trucks cross that bridge going to and from Memphis International Airport these days? In other, more recent shipping developments, Amazon is planning two new facilities for the region — one in Byhalia and one in North Memphis. I’m sure they’ll add to the load as well.

I don’t mean to suggest that any of these businesses are the root cause of the bridge crack. Plenty of average citizens cross the bridge every day as well. My point is that the bridge is older than entire industries. We’re so quick to accept new terms when they’re consumer goods, so why are we so loath to update the lexicon when we’re talking about something everyone can use? Amazon and FedEx are household names, but infrastructure must always mean roads and bridges? It’s time to think outside the box, and in case anyone hasn’t been paying attention, we have a pretty clear example of just how wrong things can go when we ignore potential threats.

A pandemic response team isn’t a superfluous expense because we might not need it next year. Bridge and road and utility upkeep are all vital. Cybersecurity, in our interconnected and increasingly digital world, damn sure counts as essential; if a ransomware attack can cripple the East Coast’s oil distribution, shouldn’t cybersecurity be infrastructure?

Cost is an issue, of course, but think of all this as national defense if it helps the pill go down more smoothly. We don’t want to be taken by surprise by climate change, or the next coronavirus, or a more sophisticated and long-reaching cyber attack. As a society, we’re really only as healthy as our least-protected members. There are practical reasons to ensure everyone has access to basic services and protections.

Some people might want to debate my use of the word “basic.” They have trouble imagining the internet and elder or child care as infrastructure. But have you ever tried to apply for a job in the 21st century without an internet connection? If you get the job, what do you do with your kids? We need working social structures as much as we need bridges and roads. We need access to intangible but vital services like the internet. Reimagining our definitions means taking a hard look at an uncertain future, and uncertainty is frightening. What will the world look like once we’ve reimagined it? How will we bring it into existence? And after all that work, will we just have to do it again every generation?

We’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, let’s ponder this together.

Categories
News The Fly-By

MEMernet: The Bridge: Past and Present, and a Free Margarita

A roundup of Memphis on the World Wide Web.

The Past

The City of West Memphis Facebook page threw it way back last week to around 1971 when construction was underway of the Hernando DeSoto Bridge. It opened to vehicle traffic in 1973 and cost $57 million (about $256 million in today’s money).

Posted to Facebook by the City of West Memphis

The Present

Reddit user u/HellooNewmann posted a photo showing crews at work fixing the Hernando DeSoto Bridge with “big plates” and a “ton of bolts.”

Posted to Reddit by u/HellooNewmann

Facebook Margarita

A Normal Station member of the Buy Nothing Facebook group gave away a frozen margarita from El Mezcal last week.

“It’s fresh, and keeping cold in the freezer, opened just for pic,” reads the post. “I’m a regular for to-go orders, and my buddy so kindly gifted me a to-go margarita, couldn’t say, ‘No, thank you.’ But I can’t do tequila.”

The margarita was claimed and picked up.

Posted to Facebook in the Buy Nothing Midtown/Downtown group

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News Blog News Feature

Crews Wrap Up First Phase of Bridge Repair

The first phase of repairs for the Hernando DeSoto Bridge are complete, Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) officials announced Tuesday.

The agency said Kiewit Infrastructure Group, the contractor hired for the bridge repair project, “worked 24-hour shifts installing fabricated steel plates on each side of the fractured member to secure the bridge for permanent repairs.”

“Phase one is complete!” TDOT exclaimed in a Tuesday news update.

Kiewit will now begin cleaning the worksite and extending the platform. In phase two, the damaged piece of the bridge will be removed and replaced. This phase must be complete before the bridge can reopen to traffic.

TDOT officials said the restriping project at the I-55 and Crump interchange “is working” to improve traffic flow there. Traffic data show a 40 percent reduction in travel time from Monday, May 17th to Monday, May 24th; a 47-minute delay was reduced to 27 minutes, TDOT said.

Categories
News The Fly-By

MEMernet: That Barbecue Map and That Crack

A roundup of Memphis on the World Wide Web.

“Blasphemous”

Posted to Twitter by Chef’s Pencil

The MEMernet was outraged last week. A map from the Chef’s Pencil food blog listed the country’s “top cities for BBQ” based on Tripadvisor restaurant reviews. Newark, Seattle, and Miami were there. Memphis was not.

Some called it “blasphemous.” Memphis City Council member JB Smiley tweeted the map with “#StopTheLies.”

Meanwhile, council member Allan Creasy “fixed it” with this tweet.

Posted to Twitter by Allan Creasy

That Crack

A crack in the Hernando DeSoto Bridge stopped traffic on the Mississippi River and I-40. It lit up the MEMernet.

“I’m just really glad to finally have some alone time and be able to work on ME,” tweeted the Hernando DeSoto Bridge.

“You don’t choose Infrastructure Week. Infrastructure Week chooses you,” tweeted Memphis Bridge Crack.

“From the makers of the Bass Pro Pyramid: Flex Seal Bridge,” tweeted KJ Britt.

Posted to Twitter by KJ BriTt.

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News Blog News Feature

Bridge Report: Lee Jabs at Democrats, Repair Contract Awarded

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee used his Memphis trip to review work on the still-closed Hernando-DeSoto Bridge and to make couched, partisan swipes at Democrats. 

In a statement issued before his scheduled press briefing here at 12:45 p.m., Lee took tame jabs at Congress, and President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan and American Jobs Plan. The statement was formally a call to “address the need for immediate federal action on infrastructure.”

“While Congress ponders the definition of infrastructure, we call upon the federal government to prioritize the safety of actual roads and bridges,” Lee said in the statement.

“While Congress ponders the definition of infrastructure, we call upon the federal government to prioritize the safety of actual roads and bridges.”

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee

The statement then notes that the American Rescue Plan gives $182 million to Shelby County and $161 million to the city of Memphis. But those funds “are expressly prohibited from being spent on road, highway, or bridge infrastructure.” Lee then claims the American Jobs Plan is “touted as an infrastructure plan” and would spend an estimated $2 trillion “with a mere 5.6 percent dedicated to roads and bridges.”

Lee finished the statement thanking the “state of Arkansas, the Coast Guard, and the Army Corps of Engineers” and said he looks “forward to meaningful action out of Congress to address the condition of our roads and bridges across the country.”

A contract for emergency bridge repair was awarded Monday to Omaha, Nebraska-based Kiewit Infrastructure Group. The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) said the “selection was based on qualifications, experience, and availability of personnel and equipment.” 

“The contractor has joined the design discussion, and repair plans are being modified per their construction expertise,” reads an update from TDOT. “Once the plans are finalized, we expect a timeline for repair and reopening the bridge. Kiewit will be mobilizing its equipment to the project site starting Wednesday.”

TDOT said the plan will be performed in two phases and traffic will not be allowed on the bridge until they are both complete. Phase one will install fabricated steel plates on each side of the fractured piece to hold the heavy equipment necessary for the permanent repairs. Phase two will remove and replace the damaged piece. 

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News Blog News Feature

Officials Mull Interim Fixes for I-40 Bridge, River Reopened to Traffic

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.”

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News Blog News Feature

Want To See the Bridge “Crack?” TDOT Shares Images

Nichole Lawrence/@NicLawrenceTDOT/Twitter

Tennessee Department of Transportation spokeswoman Nichole Lacey shared images of the break on the Hernando-DeSoto Bridge that will close the stretch of I-40 for weeks.

Nichole Lawrence/@NicLawrenceTDOT/Twitter
Nichole Lawrence/@NicLawrenceTDOT/Twitter