Permanent repairs to the I-40 Mississippi River bridge could begin by the end of June, said Tennessee Dept. of Transportation Commissioner Clay Bright, at a June 3 press conference following a day of meetings with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and other state and local officials. Repair contractor Kiewit Infrastructure Group has begun procurement of Michael Baker International-designed post-tensioning components and reinforcement plates that will be installed around the crossing's fractured beam, Bright says.
The plan calls for installing the 20,000-ton, 4 ft x 8 ft post-tensioned brackets 150 ft apart to support eight 3-in.-thick rods that can accommodate 3 million lb of stress. Kiewit will then use nearly 3,000 bolts to attach 150-ft long steel plates weighing 53 tons on both sides of the beam.