I-40 AR/TN bridge closed until further notice

That's a little more than a crack I'd say.
That's a big deal...

 

Made it over just in time, I guess.
55 is so suckey on a normal day, it will be impossible until 40 opens back up.
Oh well. Life of a trucker

 

Just read an article that this was a routine check that they do every two years. Crack was so bad that the inspection crew called 911 and they had i-40 closed within about ten minutes. Sounds like a catastrophic event was narrowly missed. They’ve shut down barge traffic on the Mississippi as well.

 

Duct Tape. That will fix it.

 

24" x 30" is a big beam. I wonder how long it's been that way, you can see rust forming on the steel within the split.

The inspection crew is so concerned they call 911.
I-40 bridge inspectors made frantic calls to 911

 

That's not carrying the traffic load. Most all of the vertical load is handled by the arch and suspension cables and directed into the piers. That beam is there to stabilize those huge crossbeams, and probably takes some good loads as traffic accelerates or decelerate. If you've ever been on a bridge in stop and go traffic, that fore and aft shaking (especially from heavy trucks taking off from a stop) would generate separation and twisting forces between those crossbeams that'd load that member. I bet that beam takes some hellacious wind loading, too.