LITTLE ROCK Ark. (AP) - A crack in a steel beam that forced the closure of the Interstate 40 bridge connecting Arkansas and Tennessee for three months likely began when the span was fabricated in the 1970s and went undetected for years, a report by Arkansas' Transportation Department released Thursday said.

The Interstate 40 bridge linking Arkansas and Tennessee fully reopened Monday ahead of schedule following repairs to a crack that had shut down the span since early May.

Limited Traffic Can Resume Monday

There is one place in the western hemisphere where north meets south and east meets west from a goods distribution perspective. Interstate 55, which connects Canada to Mexico, and Interstate 40, which connects the west coast to the east coast, meet in West Memphis, the largest city in Crittenden County that abuts the Mississippi River.

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg traveled to Tennessee on Thursday to learn how the closure of the Interstate 40 bridge connecting that state and Arkansas has affected freight movement since it was shut down more than three weeks ago when a crack was found in the span.

Arkansas Trucking Association President Shannon Newton said short-term and long-term solutions are being discussed to resolve the transportation challenges presented by the closure of the damaged I-40 Mississippi River bridge to Memphis.

Governor Asa Hutchinson joins Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee and other officials in Memphis to discuss the status of the Interstate 40 Bridge between Arkansas and Tennessee. Watch the livestream of the press conference being held from the I-40 Welcome Center in Memphis.

Department officials said they terminated the inspector Monday over his failure to notice damage to the Interstate 40 Mississippi River bridge during inspections one year apart, in Sept. of 2019 and 2020.

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, said in a Sunday (May 16) interview the I-40 Memphis bridge situation is a “national concern.” He also weighed in on the ouster of Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, from House GOP leadership and said he plans to run for re-election in 2022.

Transportation officials said repairs could take months after the bridge was closed Tuesday following the discovery of a crack in a steel beam during an inspection.