{"id":22877,"date":"2021-08-04T16:01:38","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T21:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/?p=22877"},"modified":"2021-08-05T11:59:17","modified_gmt":"2021-08-05T16:59:17","slug":"with-next-i-40-bridge-inspection-a-month-away-ardot-still-lacks-explanation-for-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/08\/04\/with-next-i-40-bridge-inspection-a-month-away-ardot-still-lacks-explanation-for-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"With next I-40 bridge inspection a month away, ArDOT still lacks explanation for failure"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
The then-closed Hernando DeSoto Bridge (shown on May 17) was completely reopened on Monday, Aug. 2. (Mark Weber\/Daily Memphian)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This story was co-published with The Daily Memphian.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Though I-40 traffic is now flowing over the Hernando DeSoto Bridge for the first time in almost three months, officials with the Arkansas Department of Transportation have yet to explain how its inspection program missed the potentially catastrophic crack that closed the bridge in May.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

An investigation by the Arkansas Nonprofit News Network and The Daily Memphian found that ArDOT lacks a detailed, explicit description of exactly how the next inspection of the DeSoto bridge should unfold. And that inspection, according to ArDOT officials, will happen as soon as September.<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked for documentation of its inspection procedure, ArDOT spokesman Dave Parker provided a single file produced in 2012. The four-page document, titled \u201c<\/span>Fracture Critical & Complex Bridge Inspection Procedure \u2014 Mississippi River Bridge No. 05141 Into Memphis<\/span><\/a>,\" describes basic structural elements of the bridge and notes it was constructed using a welding process that may be prone to cracks. In three diagrams and fewer than 200 words, the document outlines the process of inspecting a bridge that spans nearly three miles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Asked what prompted ArDOT to institute the protocol in 2012 and how inspections changed as a result, Parker replied: \u200b\u200b\u201cAdditional time would be needed to research the history and reasoning behind protocols made this many years back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Parker also referred reporters to the Federal Highway Administration\u2019s <\/span>bridge inspector\u2019s reference manual<\/span><\/a> \u2014 a 2,000-page volume that outlines general requirements and procedures not specific to the DeSoto Bridge.<\/span><\/p>\n

The agency also does not yet have a plan for how to ensure such a profound failure never happens again. \u201cThe FHWA review is not complete. ARDOT will make changes in collaboration with FHWA,\u201d Parker said, referencing a Federal Highway Administration audit of ArDOT\u2019s inspection program that is expected to conclude in September \u2014 one of two ongoing federal probes examining the program in the wake of the bridge closure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Experts interviewed by ANNN and The Daily Memphian said bridge inspection protocols should be clear and precise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Department of Transportation should \u2014 must \u2014 have directions to people doing inspections as to what their obligations are, and that they ought to be able to provide,\u201d said Raymond Tillman, a licensed professional engineer and past president of a division of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.* \u201cYou don't just tell someone \u2018Go out and inspect this.\u2019 You say, \u2018Look at A, B, C and D.\u2019 \u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tillman emphasized that his comments were about inspections generally and that he did not evaluate Arkansas\u2019s specific program.<\/span><\/p>\n

The lack of specific directives are of particular concern with the DeSoto Bridge because it remains unclear whether the inspection crew was able to closely view every part of the bridge using the tools at their disposal.<\/span><\/p>\n

The DeSoto Bridge inspections require \u201carms length\u201d access to sections of the structure categorized as \u201cfracture critical,\u201d meaning the failure of a member would likely lead to the bridge\u2019s collapse. Adel Abdelnaby, an associate professor of engineering at the University of Memphis, said that means a bridge inspector must be close enough to every fracture critical element that he or she can literally reach out and touch it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That apparently did not happen on the DeSoto Bridge, which developed such a large crack in one of its steel tie girders \u2014 fracture critical beams that run along the bottom of the bridge \u2014 that the fissure was visible from the surface of the Mississippi River, some 120 feet below. Amateur photographs indicate the crack has been visible since at least 2016 and perhaps earlier.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
The cracked tie girder as seen in May 2021, before its removal (Credit: ArDOT)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Abdelnaby, who previously worked as an bridge inspector in Egypt, said it\u2019s routine for inspectors to discover they\u2019re unable to access a part of a bridge when they\u2019re out in the field. But those places must be rigorously documented and followed up on.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes you miss certain areas,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can't access them for safety reasons, or because they're not accessible, or because you don't have the equipment, or because you don't have the training. So you have to go back and point this out in the report. \u2026 And then they\u2019re either going to send you back with the right equipment to inspect that part, or they can send someone else to do it.<\/span><\/p>\n

After the crack was discovered, Abdelnaby said, he reviewed ArDOT inspection reports from recent years and saw no mention of parts of the bridge being inaccessible. He also reviewed the 2012 document from ArDOT.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI really wish there was more transparency,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd they would mention exactly what the protocol is, and what the inspector was asked to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEach bridge is unique, and each one has a very specific way of achieving a hands-on inspection,\u201d said Gary Prinz, an associate professor at the University of Arkansas who specializes in steel fatigue and fractures. \u201cSome you can just walk underneath it. Others, it\u2019s a more difficult process.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

State Sen. Jonathan Dismang, a prominent Republican lawmaker <\/span>who has criticized ArDOT in the past<\/span><\/a>, said the evident lack of a detailed protocol for DeSoto Bridge inspections is consistent with larger issues within the agency. In 2019, after the passage of a new sales tax devoted to road construction and maintenance, a legislative subcommittee co-chaired by Dismang hired a consultant to review ArDOT\u2019s practices and make recommendations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dismang was careful to note the legislative study didn\u2019t look at the bridge inspection program specifically. But agency-wide, he said, the consultant found a lack of consistency and documentation throughout ArDOT.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs you go through [their] report, it's just kind of like it'll hit you in the face \u2014 there's not a defined process in place, or there's not an understood expectation. Things are so siloed that the right hand\u2019s not talking to the left hand,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

By all indications, the DeSoto Bridge is now safer than it has been in years. The fractured steel tie girder has been removed, crews have combed the structure from top to bottom, and a contractor hired by the Tennessee Department of Transportation has reinforced several spots as a precautionary measure. (TDOT and ArDOT share maintenance responsibilities for the bridge, but only ArDOT performs inspections.)<\/span><\/p>\n

But ArDOT\u2019s bridge inspection program remains under a cloud. In addition to the Federal Highway Administration audit, the U.S. Department of Transportation\u2019s Office of Inspector General is also reviewing the program. ArDOT is conducting an internal investigation into its bridge maintenance division personnel, but ArDOT Director Lorie Tudor \u2014 along with other ArDOT officials \u2014 laid blame squarely on one bridge inspector: Monty Frazier, the team lead on its DeSoto Bridge inspections in 2019 and 2020. He was also part of the crew in 2016, 2017 and 2018 inspections, though not the lead. Frazier was fired on May 17, and no other ArDOT employee has been terminated or disciplined to date.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an interview, Tudor said Frazier had been \u201cthe only inspector who looked at that particular tie girder\u201d in the past six years.<\/span><\/p>\n

That story is undermined by ArDOT\u2019s own inspection reports, which indicate at least four other employees played a role in inspecting the tie girders since 2016. <\/span>The 2018 inspection report<\/span><\/a> does not even list Frazier as one of the two employees responsible for that element of the bridge. (Two other employees\u2019 initials are present on the document, one of which appears to be that of Rhett Franks, the team lead that year.)\u00a0 And, another recently discovered amateur photograph appears to show the crack in 2014, before Frazier even worked for ArDOT\u2019s heavy bridge inspection program.<\/span><\/p>\n

The DeSoto inspections were performed with the aid of a piece of specialty equipment called a \u201csnooper truck,\u201d a massive vehicle with a long, adjustable arm ending in a basket large enough to carry inspectors underneath the bridge. ArDOT has suggested Frazier should have been able to reach the cracked portion of the tie girder with the snooper. But Frazier has said he believes he was using the equipment as he was trained to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
1. The Aspen A-75 \u201csnooper truck\u201d is a specialty vehicle used to inspect the underside of bridges. On the DeSoto bridge, the truck\u2019s arm is deployed between the vertical cables at certain points.
2. The crack was found on one of the steel \u201ctie girders\u201d that runs the horizontal length of the bridge, several yards below the roadtop. Photos from the 2020 inspection apparently showed no sign of the crack on the bottom face of the tie girder at that time.
3. A basket at the end of the arm carries inspectors in an arc beneath the bridge, allowing them visual access to the underside of the structure.
(Illustration by Layet Johnson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tillman, the engineer, said the snooper truck is only one of many tools for bridge inspection. If it couldn\u2019t be used to get an adequate view of every foot of the tie girder, the inspectors should have done something differently, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf that was the case, and they couldn't get a good view of the outside faces of the structure, then they just swing a separate little deck affair over the side, so they can view it,\u201d Tillman said. \u201cAbsent that, drones or binoculars from a distance. But obviously, they have to be viewed.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The ArDOT inspection reports, he said, should describe whether the crew could clearly see the tie girder and what methods they used to view it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The reports, however, contain few such details. In the 2020 report, the only narrative description in the section of the report that includes the cracked tie girder is the following: \u201cSteel arches [have] flaking rust at spring line where members flatten out. Paint system is failing and is chalky colored. At diagonal juncture, gusset plates and various locations [have] freckled rust. This is typical throughout steel arches.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The description was no more detailed in 2018, the year that Monty Frazier was not one of the inspectors tasked with examining the tie girder: \u201cSpan B, U-12, Left, Rib Top Splice Plate: One sheared bolt and one missing bolt. Paint system is failing with areas of minor corrosion. No apparent visible cracks or changes at this inspection.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In contrast, <\/span>a 2019 report from a separate inspection of certain portions of the bridge<\/span><\/a>, conducted by independent contractor Michael Baker International, includes a daily log of activities and a systematic checklist of each component inspected. (ArDOT hires Michael Baker to inspect only the parts of the bridge located above the road deck. The crack that closed the bridge in May, located below the road deck, was discovered by a Michael Baker employee.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Karl Frank, a professor emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin's Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, put his opinions about ArDOT\u2019s bridge inspections bluntly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey just did not inspect it,\u201d he said. \u201cThey did not get over the side of the bridge to look at this. They\u2019re supposed to actually get their hands on it. That\u2019s why they call it a \u2018hands-on inspection.\u2019 They simply didn\u2019t do it. So, something is wrong with the inspection program in Arkansas. This was a failure of the inspection program and it\u2019s really terrible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dismang, the Arkansas state senator, said ArDOT needed to reckon with the failure. Despite the near-catastrophe on the DeSoto Bridge, he said, ArDOT remains reluctant to acknowledge fault.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The attitude at the agency, Dismang said, is \u201ckind of this defiant \u2014 \u2018Yeah, something went wrong, but nobody\u2019s hurt. It\u2019s not a good thing, but, you know, we\u2019re fixing it. So everything\u2019s good.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

*An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Raymond Tillman as a past president of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association as a whole, rather than a division of the association.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

This reporting is courtesy of the<\/i>\u00a0Arkansas Nonprofit News Network<\/i><\/a>, an independent, nonpartisan news project dedicated to producing journalism that matters to Arkansans.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This story was co-published with The Daily Memphian. Though I-40 traffic is now flowing over the Hernando DeSoto Bridge for the first time in almost three months, officials with the Arkansas Department of Transportation have yet to explain how its inspection program missed the potentially catastrophic crack that closed the bridge in May. An investigation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":22878,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[400,381,379,378,401,380,399],"class_list":["post-22877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-infrastructure","tag-adel-abdelnaby","tag-ardot","tag-hernando-desoto-bridge","tag-i-40-bridge","tag-lorie-tudor","tag-monty-frazier","tag-raymond-tillman"],"yoast_head":"\nWith next I-40 bridge inspection a month away, ArDOT still lacks explanation for failure - Arkansas Nonprofit News Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/08\/04\/with-next-i-40-bridge-inspection-a-month-away-ardot-still-lacks-explanation-for-failure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"With next I-40 bridge inspection a month away, ArDOT still lacks explanation for failure - Arkansas Nonprofit News Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This story was co-published with The Daily Memphian. 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Though I-40 traffic is now flowing over the Hernando DeSoto Bridge for the first time in almost three months, officials with the Arkansas Department of Transportation have yet to explain how its inspection program missed the potentially catastrophic crack that closed the bridge in May. 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(Mark Weber\/Daily Memphian)"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/08\/04\/with-next-i-40-bridge-inspection-a-month-away-ardot-still-lacks-explanation-for-failure\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/08\/04\/with-next-i-40-bridge-inspection-a-month-away-ardot-still-lacks-explanation-for-failure\/","name":"With next I-40 bridge inspection a month away, ArDOT still lacks explanation for failure - Arkansas Nonprofit News Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/08\/04\/with-next-i-40-bridge-inspection-a-month-away-ardot-still-lacks-explanation-for-failure\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2021-08-04T21:01:38+00:00","dateModified":"2021-08-05T16:59:17+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/08\/04\/with-next-i-40-bridge-inspection-a-month-away-ardot-still-lacks-explanation-for-failure\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/08\/04\/with-next-i-40-bridge-inspection-a-month-away-ardot-still-lacks-explanation-for-failure\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/08\/04\/with-next-i-40-bridge-inspection-a-month-away-ardot-still-lacks-explanation-for-failure\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"With next I-40 bridge inspection a month away, ArDOT still lacks explanation for failure"}]},{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/08\/04\/with-next-i-40-bridge-inspection-a-month-away-ardot-still-lacks-explanation-for-failure\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/08\/04\/with-next-i-40-bridge-inspection-a-month-away-ardot-still-lacks-explanation-for-failure\/#webpage"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c70f504b5766d905621a357bcd7d30b8"},"headline":"With next I-40 bridge inspection a month away, ArDOT still lacks explanation for failure","datePublished":"2021-08-04T21:01:38+00:00","dateModified":"2021-08-05T16:59:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/08\/04\/with-next-i-40-bridge-inspection-a-month-away-ardot-still-lacks-explanation-for-failure\/#webpage"},"wordCount":2027,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/08\/04\/with-next-i-40-bridge-inspection-a-month-away-ardot-still-lacks-explanation-for-failure\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/memphisbridge.jpg","keywords":["Adel Abdelnaby","ArDOT","Hernando DeSoto Bridge","I-40 bridge","Lorie Tudor","Monty Frazier","Raymond Tillman"],"articleSection":["Infrastructure"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2021\/08\/04\/with-next-i-40-bridge-inspection-a-month-away-ardot-still-lacks-explanation-for-failure\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c70f504b5766d905621a357bcd7d30b8","name":"Matt Stroud","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51c2c86f0d279fb13c90c395df629951fe8a247dee1e011a982289552a22c20d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51c2c86f0d279fb13c90c395df629951fe8a247dee1e011a982289552a22c20d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Matt Stroud"},"url":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/author\/matt-stroud\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}