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The U.S. Department of Transportation is providing nearly $400 million to build a new Interstate 55 bridge connecting Tennessee and Arkansas across the Mississippi River, replacing the existing 75-year-old span, officials said Friday.
In separate news releases, Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis said the Transportation Department informed Congress on Friday that it is investing more than $393 million to build the new bridge.
The existing I-55 bridge was built in 1949 but it remains a vital and heavily traveled artery, with thousands of cars and commercial vehicles crossing it each day. The aging bridge is one of two that connects Memphis with Arkansas, along with the Interstate 40 bridge.
Officials have been pushing for a modernized I-55 bridge since the I-40 bridge was closed for weeks in 2021 to repair a crack in the structure. The new bridge will be built to modern seismic codes and is projected to accommodate approximately 64,000 vehicles daily, significantly higher than the current 48,000 vehicles, by 2050, Lee's office said.
The governor’s office said the transportation departments in Tennessee and Arkansas have each committed up to $250 million to the project.
“This unprecedented investment in Memphis marks the single-largest transportation investment in Tennessee state history and will be transformative for our infrastructure,” Lee said.
Cohen, a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has discussed the project in committee hearings, most recently with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on June 28. Buttigieg visited Memphis when the I-40 bridge was shut down.
Cohen said the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021 helped provide the funds for the project.
“Transportation across America creates jobs and improves our economy — America’s River Crossing,” Cohen said.
