A steel tension tie holding up a 1973 bridge that carries Interstate 40 over the Mississippi was found split most of the way through, and traffic in both directions was stopped within hours on May 11,

Key Points:

• On May 11, 2021, inspectors discovered a critical fracture in one of the two main steel tension ties of the Hernando de Soto Bridge, a vital Mississippi River crossing carrying about 41,000 vehicles daily between Memphis and West Memphis.
• The fracture likely originated from a fabrication weld repair made before the bridge opened in 1973, with hydrogen-assisted cracks developing over decades and eluding detection during previous ultrasonic inspections in 1982.
• Similar issues had occurred before, notably on the Sherman-Minton Bridge in 2011, where hydrogen-assisted cracking in welded T-1 steel tension ties led to a prolonged closure, prompting the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to recommend enhanced inspections.
• After the 2021 Hernando de Soto Bridge closure, non-destructive testing uncovered 12 additional welds with hidden hydrogen cracks, revealing the limitations of visual inspections and earlier testing methods.
• In response, the FHWA mandated in December 2021 that states identify older fracture-critical T-1 steel members and conduct non-destructive testing on their butt welds, elevating prior advisory guidelines to enforceable requirements to prevent future failures.