Mississippi River opened near Memphis under damaged bridge

The U.S. Coast Guard has reopened traffic on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee, after a three-day delay caused by a crack in an interstate bridge

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The U.S. Coast Guard said Friday that river traffic has reopened on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee, three days after it was closed when a crack was discovered in the Interstate 40 bridge that connects Tennessee and Arkansas. More than 45 tug boats hauling about 700 barges had been idled along the river south and north of the bridge, waiting for clearance. Now they can cross under the Hernando De Soto Bridge, Petty Officer Carlos Galarza told The Associated Press. Economic development officials had been concerned that an extended closure of river traffic could hurt the region's economy and have ripple effects on the nation’s supply chain. River traffic under the six-lane bridge was shut down Tuesday after inspectors found a “significant fracture” in one of two 900-foot (274-meter) horizontal steel beams that are crucial for the bridge’s integrity, said Lorie Tudor, director of the Arkansas Department of Transportation.