What Really Happened at the Hernando de Soto Bridge?

In May of 2021, inspectors on the I-40 Mississippi River Bridge near Memphis, Tennessee discovered a major crack in a structural member. They immediately contacted emergency managers to shut down this key crossing to vehicle traffic above and maritime traffic below. This video provides a summary of the event, including a discussion on arch bridges, fatigue in steel members, and national bridge inspection standards.

Errata:
(1) 8:38 "at minimum, an arm's length away" should be "at maximum, an arm's length away"
(2) 1:14 New Madrid is usually pronounced MA-drid, not ma-DRID.
(3) 4:55 ”It’s hard to understate the severity” should be “overstate”

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