TDOT to hold meeting to discuss replacing I-55 bridge
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tennessee Department of Transportation will host a meeting Thursday night and is encouraging the public to share their feedback about replacing the Interstate 55 bridge between Memphis and Arkansas.
According to TDOT, more than 64,000 people travel across the 75-year-old I-55 bridge in Memphis per day. TDOT hopes to increase capacity with a new bridge.
Construction could start by 2026.
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The project would start immediately after the current construction project on the Crump Boulevard interchange connected to I-55, which is set to be finished next year.
Memphis’ other bridge across the Mississippi River, the Interstate 40 bridge, was shut down for months after a crack was discovered on a beam in 2021. More recently with the collapse of a bridge in Baltimore, the decision to replace the I-55 bridge has gained more attention.
A TDOT spokesperson said they’re focused on safety and congestion. “There are so many factors that come into play when we’re looking at these types of projects. Remember it is a true replacement. We’re not putting it anywhere else so it would be right there where it would feed into the new Crump interchange.”
The goal of the bridge project is to improve safety, modernize the bridge and make it earthquake-resistant.
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You can weigh in on the possible project this week.
The first public meeting is set to start Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Central Station Hotel on South Main Street in downtown Memphis. The next meeting is April 25 at the Eugene Woods Civic Center in West Memphis.
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