Hernando de Soto Bridge

Hernando de Soto Bridge
Hernando de Soto Bridge photographed from the Memphis Pyramid
Coordinates	35°09′10″N 90°03′50″W / 35.15278°N 90.06389°W / 35.15278; -90.06389Coordinates: 35°09′10″N 90°03′50″W / 35.15278°N 90.06389°W / 35.15278; -90.06389
Carries	6 lanes of I‑40
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	West Memphis, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee
Other name(s)	The M Bridge, Memphis Bridge, Mississippi Bridge, New Bridge
Maintained by	TDOT and AHTD
ID number	79I00400001
Characteristics
Design	Through arch bridge
Total length	9,432.6 feet (2,875 m)
Width	90 feet (27 m)
Longest span	900 feet (274 m) each
Clearance below	109 feet (33 m) (varies some due to river level)
History
Opened	August 2, 1973
Statistics
Daily traffic	43,000 (2008)

The Hernando de Soto Bridge is a through arch bridge carrying Interstate 40 across the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee. Memphians also call the bridge the "New Bridge", as it is newer than the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge (carrying Interstate 55) downstream, and the "M Bridge", due to its distinctive shape. It is of similar construction to the Sherman Minton Bridge between Louisville, Kentucky, and New Albany, Indiana.

The bridge is named for 16th century Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto who explored this stretch of the Mississippi River, and died south of Memphis. His body was believed to have been buried in the Mississippi River after his death (although, according to legend, his body lay at the bottom of Lake Chicot in Arkansas, an oxbow lake of the Mississippi River about 130 miles south of Memphis.)

On August 23, 2007, an inspector discovered that a bridge pier on the approach bridge west of the river had settled overnight, and the bridge was subsequently closed to perform a precautionary inspection. The bridge was reopened later that day.

At night, the bridge is illuminated by 200 sodium vapor lights along its "M" shape structure. The bridge was first lit on September 5, 1986, after $373,000 of private funds had been raised to fund the cost and installation of the lights. Due to some river traffic having issues with the lights at night reflecting on the water, the city installed a remote switch to toggle the lights on and off briefly while the vessel passes under the bridge. During the 2011 Mississippi River floods, the bridge became dark for about 2 months because the transformers that supply the electricity for the lights were removed to prevent damage to them by flood waters. The bridge was re-lit in a ceremony which occurred on June 21, 2011.