I-40 bridge linking Arkansas, Tennessee re-opened

(AP) — Authorities on Saturday night reopened the Interstate 40 bridge linking Arkansas and Tennessee that had been closed ever since a crack was discovered in the span in May. 

The Hernando DeSoto Bridge reopened to the public for eastbound traffic on Saturday. 

The I-40 bridge over the Mississippi River was shut down May 11 after inspectors found a crack in one of two 900-foot horizontal steel beams critical for the bridge’s structural integrity. I-40 runs from North Carolina to California. 

Manufacturers and shippers rely on the interstate to move products and materials across the river.