{"id":23010,"date":"2022-02-20T04:00:46","date_gmt":"2022-02-20T10:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/?p=23010"},"modified":"2022-02-20T07:57:25","modified_gmt":"2022-02-20T13:57:25","slug":"slipped-through-the-cracks-how-state-highway-authorities-missed-the-defect-that-nearly-brought-down-the-i-40-bridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arknews.org\/index.php\/2022\/02\/20\/slipped-through-the-cracks-how-state-highway-authorities-missed-the-defect-that-nearly-brought-down-the-i-40-bridge\/","title":{"rendered":"Slipped through the cracks: How highway authorities missed the flaw that nearly brought down the I-40 bridge"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Illustration
Illustration by Layet Johnson<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On May 11, a catastrophe was narrowly averted on the I-40 Hernando DeSoto bridge, a 3.3-mile-long structure that crosses the Mississippi River and connects Memphis and Arkansas.<\/span><\/p>\n

A contractor working for the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT) noticed a gaping crack in a hollow steel girder, threatening the entire bridge span with collapse. The situation was so dire that the contractor called 911, and authorities shut down traffic within hours. It remained closed for three months while workers performed emergency repairs, costing roughly $10 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

ArDOT later determined the crack had been visible since at least 2016, according to an amateur photograph taken by a kayaker on the river, 120 feet below. Somehow, despite annual inspections of the bridge, ArDOT had missed it time and time again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nine months later, after a federal review and an internal investigation, ArDOT is in the process of implementing major changes to its inspection program that will result in vastly improved oversight. In December, the Federal Highway Administration instructed state transportation agencies across the country to evaluate their bridges for similar vulnerabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n

As for the I-40 bridge itself, it has never before received such careful attention. During the closure last summer, crews scanned some 500 welds with ultrasonic technology. (Steel plates were installed in 17 spots as a precaution, though no other major defects were found.) Further testing is scheduled for this spring or summer, according to ArDOT spokesman Dave Parker.<\/span><\/p>\n

But how did the situation become so dire? And who was responsible for missing such an obvious flaw on a bridge that sees 41,000 vehicles cross its span on a given day? A close analysis of an engineering report and interviews with state officials offer some insights.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The key takeaway: Inspection missteps on the bridge may date back four decades.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Hernando DeSoto Bridge sits empty May 12, 2021. (Patrick Lantrip\/Daily Memphian)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A critical link<\/b><\/h2>\n

The Hernando DeSoto Bridge was constructed in 1973 and is a vital component of the I-40 federal interstate highway, which stretches from Barstow, Calif. to Wilmington, N. Car. Its failure would have amounted to a catastrophe that would be hard to imagine.<\/span><\/p>\n

The cracked girder was blamed on a flawed weld \u2014 something that plagues similar bridges across the nation due to welding practices that are no longer acceptable today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Failure of this \u201cfracture critical\u201d element would be expected to cause the bridge span as a whole to collapse. Fracture-critical members are supposed to be given an arms-length inspection every year \u2014 that is, inspectors should be close enough to reach out and touch the flawed area.<\/span><\/p>\n

ArDOT initially blamed one employee, inspector Monty Frazier, who was fired on May 17. Since 2016, Frazier had been part of a team that inspected the bridge, and he led it in 2019 and 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an interview in July, ArDOT Director Lorie Tudor said Frazier was \u201cthe only inspector who looked at that particular tie girder\u201d between 2016 and 2020, even though inspection reports showed otherwise. ArDOT later acknowledged a different inspector had examined the girder in 2018; that employee was \u201cverbally counseled\u201d and received additional training, Parker said in November.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many specific questions remain about how the crack was missed in recent years, some of which may be answered by an ongoing federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Transportation\u2019s Office of Inspector General. But other information has emerged that gives a sense of the broader inspection failure and how the crack developed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
The cracked girder in 2021 (Arkansas Department of Transportation)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In November<\/span><\/a>, ArDOT released a Federal Highway Administration review of ArDOT\u2019s bridge inspection program and the results of an internal investigation that recommended placing the program under new management. Two senior ArDOT engineers who oversaw the heavy bridge maintenance section, Mike Hill and Stewart Linz, \u201cretired\u201d that same day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It also released a third document: <\/span>a detailed forensic analysis of the crack<\/span><\/a> by Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, a Chicago-based engineering firm.<\/span><\/p>\n

In May, the damaged portion of the girder was removed from the bridge and sent to WJE\u2019s laboratory in Illinois for metallurgical analysis. The 43-page final report delves into the literal minutiae of the fracture \u2014 its structure on a microscopic scale \u2014 to explain how the crack developed.<\/span><\/p>\n

The WJE report ties the bad weld back to the original fabrication of steel plates in the late 1960s or early 1970s.<\/span><\/p>\n

The report focuses on the material causes of the fracture, but it also underscores the scope of the historical inspection failure. Highway authorities have long known the bridge was vulnerable to cracking based on its design, its materials and the period when it was built.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps most remarkably, the WJE report indicates that a contractor hired by Tennessee highway authorities missed a chance to find the problem almost four decades ago. (Tennessee and Arkansas co-own the bridge and split the costs of maintenance; in general, Arkansas is responsible for inspections and Tennessee is responsible for repairs.)<\/span><\/p>\n

The crack wasn\u2019t visible to the naked eye at that time, presumably. But in 1982, the Tennessee Department of Transportation performed ultrasonic testing on many of the bridge\u2019s welds, including the specific site where the fracture would later develop. That weld was found to contain a minor defect, which was noted in a report from the time.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ultrasonic test did not, however, find two other, much larger defects a few inches away in the same weld. Those cracks, lurking unseen beneath the surface of the metal, would eventually develop into the gaping fracture that became visible in recent years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot explain how the flaws were missed in 1982,\u201d Parker said in an emailed response to questions about the WJE report. \u201cBased on WJE\u2019s findings, the flaws should have been detectable during the 1982 evaluation.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ted Kniazewycz, the director of the Tennessee Department of Transportation\u2019s structures division, said the defects were likely missed because the weld site was unusually wide, due to repairs done during fabrication. \u201cWhen they were testing the weld, they just didn\u2019t test a big enough area,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

WJE referred all questions about its analysis to ArDOT. The contractor that performed the 1982 ultrasonic test, the Magnaflux Corporation, did not respond to requests for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
The fractured tie girder on the I-40 bridge in May (Arkansas Department of Transportation)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hidden flaws<\/b><\/h2>\n

If cracks are found in a structure early on, experts said, they often can be addressed with little disruption.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don't maintain your home, you're going to start getting leaks,\u201d said Gary Prinz, an associate professor of civil engineering at the University of Arkansas who specializes in steel fatigue and fractures. \u201cThat doesn't mean that it wasn't built or designed properly. It just means, you know, things happen over time. Just like you would in your home, we do normal repairs and inspections of critical elements to ensure that it continues to operate adequately and to ensure safety.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ruchu Hsu, a retired structural engineer who has designed multiple bridges in the U.S. and abroad, said design and construction standards have improved in the 50 years since the I-40 bridge was built. One shouldn\u2019t assume older structures are unsafe, however. They just require diligent inspection.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFinding a crack on this bridge, it\u2019s a normal thing. It\u2019s nobody\u2019s fault,\u201d Hsu said. \u201cThe design was basically good at that time. The construction was good at that time. The only thing, in my view, the only problem, was the inspection.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The twin arches of the I-40 bridge are examples of a \u201ctied-arch truss\u201d design. The ends of each arch are \u201ctied\u201d together by girders that run along either side of the bottom of the bridge deck. These tie girders hold the arch in tension, much like the ends of a longbow are held together by a string. (A tied arch is sometimes called a \u201cbowstring arch\u201d for this reason.) That means the failure of a tie girder could cause the entire structure to unravel.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the I-40 bridge, the tie girders are composed of steel plates welded together to form a long, hollow box. The fracture developed within a weld that joins two plates \u2014 one thicker, one thinner \u2014 both on the front face of a tie girder on the north side of the bridge. The girder runs beneath the bridge deck, below the traffic streaming westbound from Memphis to Arkansas.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
A shop drawing of the damaged tie girder at the location of the fracture (Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates via ArDOT)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The WJE analysis found that two large cracks developed deep within the weld \u2014 or, more precisely, within repairs made to the weld during fabrication. The cracks were caused by hydrogen gas building up in the weld metal, a common problem that can be mitigated by practices such as pre-heating the base metal before welding.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, the report says, metal fabricators adhere to strict hydrogen control measures and test welds for cracks after a weld is complete. \u201cHowever, during the era when these tie girders were fabricated, such measures were not fully understood or practiced,\u201d the report says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prinz said welding standards have evolved significantly since the 1970s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor our new infrastructure going in, there are fracture control plans that are put into place to capture these sorts of weld defects in the fabrication shops,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd on the back end, post-fabrication or post-erection inspection criteria is specially designed to capture issues like this before they become critical. When followed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The WJE report constructs a step-by-step narrative of how the two cracks propagated through the surrounding metal \u2014 the growth arresting for a time, then resuming. Eventually the fracture broke through the surface of the metal and became visible on the exterior face of the tie girder.<\/span><\/p>\n

What the report does not contain, however, is a sense of when that happened. ArDOT has acknowledged the crack could be seen from a distance in 2016. Could it have been visible even longer? Another amateur photo from 2014 that appears to show the crack, <\/span>published last summer<\/span><\/a> by the Arkansas Nonprofit News Network and The Daily Memphian, has not yet been verified by authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n

The question is important because ArDOT has insisted the crack went overlooked due to the negligence of Frazier, the fired inspector. But Frazier first began inspecting the bridge in 2016. If the crack was visible before then, others should have seen it as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Parker, the ArDOT spokesman, said in November that the agency had not been able to determine whether the crack was visible before 2016. The agency did not interview the inspectors who examined the bridge in 2015 or 2014 as part of its recent internal review, he said at the time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
A photo taken by kayaker Barry W. Moore in 2016, as included in the WJE report (Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates via ArDOT)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An early warning<\/b><\/h2>\n

In 1978, just five years after the I-40 bridge opened, state transportation officials across the country received a warning from the Federal Highway Administration: Tied arch bridges were susceptible to weld cracks. <\/span>A technical advisory<\/span><\/a> said such bridges \u201cshould be inspected carefully, especially the tie girders.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe serious consequences of weld cracking associated with the tie girder of a tied arch structure should not be overlooked,\u201d the federal advisory said. \u201cRepairs to rectify the above fractures have been very costly, time consuming and in many cases have inconvenienced the traveling public.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The WJE report notes that at least two tied arch bridges experienced weld cracking in their tie girders in the late 1970s and early 1980s \u2014 the I-24 bridge in Paducah, Ky. and the I-29 bridge in Neville Island, Penn. Such concerns prompted the Tennessee Department of Transportation to search the bridge for welding defects in 1982 using ultrasonic testing, according to Kniazewycz, the Tennessee transportation official.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ultrasonic test identified a one-inch-long defect in weld number NB222W, the bad weld where the fracture would one day develop. The defect was labeled as \u201cslag,\u201d a normal by-product of the welding process. But the test somehow missed two large hydrogen cracks in the repaired portion of the weld, just a few inches away.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kniazewycz said the hydrogen cracks were likely missed because the weld, having been repaired during fabrication, was wider than other welds on the tie girder.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll measure from a known point and they know where the weld is supposed to be. That\u2019s where they\u2019ll scratch off the paint and do the testing. But what they didn\u2019t know is that this weld was repaired in the shop, and thus it was a lot bigger,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the Tennessee agency\u2019s conclusion, he said, not WJE\u2019s. \u201cWe don\u2019t know for a fact, and neither do they,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\"\"
The two pre-existing cracked portions of the girder (Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates via ArDOT)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Raymond Tillman, a licensed professional engineer and past president of a division of the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, said two errors seem to have been made in regard to the 1982 testing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNumber one, they understated the potential of the problem. And two, they didn\u2019t prescribe follow-on inspections. Or if they did prescribe them, it wasn\u2019t followed,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAfter 1982, they should have said, \u2018Whoops, we don\u2019t really know how it will deteriorate, so let\u2019s keep our eye on any potential cracking at the location of field welds.\u2019 Those field welds should have been examined close up since 1982,\u201d Tillman said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Scanning electron microscope images of the cracked region of the girder (Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates via ArDOT)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More warnings<\/b><\/h2>\n

In 2011, the Federal Highway Administration issued <\/span>another technical advisory<\/span><\/a> with implications for the I-40 bridge. The federal agency warned state transportation departments that bridges fabricated from a certain grade of steel known as \u201cT-1\u201d were especially prone to hydrogen cracking. T-1 steel was used to construct the I-64 Sherman Minton Bridge in Louisville, Ky., which was shut down in 2011 after inspectors found extensive cracking in welds on the tie girder. It was also used on the I-40 bridge.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Sherman Minton Bridge, which crosses the Ohio River, resembles the I-40 bridge in several ways. Both are made of two tied arch truss main spans of similar length. They were constructed about a decade apart \u2014 the Sherman Minton Bridge opened in 1962, the I-40 bridge in 1973.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both were built with T-1 steel at a time before the development of fracture control plans to prevent hydrogen cracking within welds. And both are \u201cfracture critical,\u201d meaning they lack redundancies intended to prevent a collapse in the event of a key component failing, such as a tie girder.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2011 federal advisory told states they should check the soundness of welds in tie girders made of T-1 steel. It specifically recommended using ultrasonic testing or a similar method, \u201cunless this verification has been previously conducted.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the I-40 bridge had already been tested, back in 1982.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile [ultrasonic testing] was not required on this bridge in 2012 by [the Federal Highway Administration], in hindsight it would have definitely increased our ability to discover the flaws that were previously undetected,\u201d Parker, the ArDOT spokesman, said.<\/span><\/p>\n

ArDOT did at least establish a written inspection protocol for the I-40 bridge in 2012. The brief document notes that cracks have been found in the welds of other tied arch spans in the past and references the 1982 ultrasonic testing. \u201cClose visual examinations are made of these welds during each inspection,\u201d it says. But, at 200 words, <\/span>it provides few details about how inspections should take place.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Tillman said the failure to properly inspect the welds illustrated the importance of having a licensed professional engineer on site during a bridge inspection. ArDOT did not require an engineer to be part of the inspection team on the I-40 bridge during past inspections.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAn inspector says, \u2018We went out there and spent some time, and I didn\u2019t see anything,\u2019 and that\u2019s the end of it,\u201d Tillman said. \u201cA professional engineer would have looked more closely and related it to problems in other bridges. A professional engineer should have been aware of the ultrasonic studies that indicated something in 1982 and said, \u2018We\u2019ve really got to look at this more closely.\u2019 That\u2019s why you put critical, competent people in the right positions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Parker said ArDOT will have a professional engineer on site during future inspections of \u201ccomplex\/major bridges,\u201d as recommended by the recent Federal Highway Administration review of the agency\u2019s policies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Oversight increased<\/b><\/h2>\n

ArDOT has replaced the leadership of its \u201cheavy bridge maintenance\u201d section, which oversees inspections of major structures like the I-40 bridge. It now requires a professional engineer on site for such inspections. It\u2019s added a fourth statewide inspection team, expanded its use of drones, and recently helped 29 ArDOT professional engineers become certified to be team leads for inspections, according to Parker.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Broader policy changes are ongoing, and the Federal Highway Administration \u201chas and will continue to remain active in assisting ARDOT in strengthening the Bridge Inspection Program through ongoing correspondence and period progress meetings,\u201d Parker said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The near-disaster has had national consequences. On Dec. 13, the Federal Highway Administration <\/span>issued an \u201caction memo\u201d<\/span><\/a> referencing the I-40 bridge and requiring state transportation departments to use ultrasonic testing methods to search for weld problems on bridges with similar vulnerabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA State DOT\u2019s [Department of Transportation\u2019s] failure to take the above actions could unreasonably put such structures at risk of failure and may result in liability for the State DOT in the event of failure,\u201d the memo warned.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
The fractured girder in May 2021 (Arkansas Department of Transportation)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today, the I-40 bridge is likely safer than it has been in years. The WJE report says it is theoretically possible but \u201chighly unlikely\u201d another major fracture could occur at a tie girder weld. But, it continues, \u201cIt is prudent to continue regular biannual arms-length fracture critical inspections with ultrasonic testing performed on a periodic (\u224810 years) basis.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Parker said ArDOT planned to follow that recommendation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the brink<\/b><\/h2>\n

Despite all the investigation, some questions may never be answered.<\/span><\/p>\n

One is when the fracture grew from a small, hidden weld defect into a large, visible fracture. Another is what exactly triggered it to start growing.<\/span><\/p>\n

When metals are stressed repeatedly, they gradually become weaker, and most engineers initially assumed \u201cmetal fatigue\u201d played a major role in the development of the I-40 crack. But the WJE analysis found no evidence of fatigue.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, it says the crack propagated due to \u201can unknown combination of tie girder loading which likely included thermal effects in combination with live loads.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In engineering language, \u201cloading\u201d simply means a force or pressure placed on a structure. A \u201clive load\u201d is traffic \u2014 the weight of the cars and trucks cycling over the bridge. \u201cThermal effects\u201d refers to stresses due to cooling and heating of the steel, especially during cold weather.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adel Abdelnaby, an associate professor of engineering at the University of Memphis, said he was not satisfied with WJE\u2019s explanation. \u201cWe still don\u2019t know what the loading conditions were,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we need more investigation on what exactly happened. That\u2019s the problem. It\u2019s a bridge that affects the lives of so many people, so you have to be sure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Parker, the ArDOT spokesman, said the agency \u201ccannot identify a specific event that caused the crack to propagate. For example, a high live load could be fully loaded (legal weight) trucks in all 6 lanes crossing the midspan of the bridge at the exact same time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Whatever triggered the crack to grow, one thing is certain: The Memphis region got incredibly lucky.<\/span><\/p>\n

Newer bridges are built with higher redundancy, meaning they are less reliant on any individual element. With a high-redundancy bridge, Abdenaby said, \u201cif one part fails, there may be problems, but the whole bridge doesn\u2019t collapse. If something fails, something else is going to take over.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But the I-40 bridge is a low-redundancy bridge. \u201cIf this tie girder [completely] fractures, you\u2019re supposed to have the bridge collapse. The whole bridge, right away,\u201d he said. Somehow, the remaining portion of the tie girder managed to keep supporting the span, he said, despite the fact that it was more than halfway severed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Parker said the arch spans were designed with \u201ca high factor of safety,\u201d meaning they were built to be much stronger than would be needed under normal circumstances.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prinz said designers make conservative assumptions about the strength of materials, especially in fracture critical members.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOn paper, yes, maybe this thing was compromised. But in reality, the structure is a little bit smarter than we are,\u201d he said. \u201cSteel is a very resilient material.\u201d It\u2019s also possible that other elements of the bridge may have \u201cpicked up the slack\u201d from the girder, he said, providing an alternate load path.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In other words, the I-40 bridge proved to be more resilient than expected. But it\u2019s impossible to know just how long the deteriorating girder would have held up.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were very fortunate,\u201d Prinz said.<\/span><\/p>\n

This reporting is courtesy of the <\/span><\/i>Arkansas Nonprofit News Network<\/span><\/i><\/a>, an independent, nonpartisan news project dedicated to producing journalism that matters to Arkansans, and is supported in part by a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism. This story was co-published with <\/span><\/i>The Daily Memphian<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On May 11, a catastrophe was narrowly averted on the I-40 Hernando DeSoto bridge, a 3.3-mile-long structure that crosses the Mississippi River and connects Memphis and Arkansas. A contractor working for the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT) noticed a gaping crack in a hollow steel girder, threatening the entire bridge span with collapse. The situation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":23013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[381,438,379,378,444],"class_list":["post-23010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-infrastructure","tag-ardot","tag-federal-highway-administration","tag-hernando-desoto-bridge","tag-i-40-bridge","tag-tennessee-department-of-transportation"],"yoast_head":"\nSlipped through the cracks: How highway authorities missed the flaw that nearly brought down the I-40 bridge - 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\/2022\/02\/20\/slipped-through-the-cracks-how-state-highway-authorities-missed-the-defect-that-nearly-brought-down-the-i-40-bridge\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Slipped through the cracks: How highway authorities missed the flaw that nearly brought down the I-40 bridge - Arkansas Nonprofit News Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On May 11, a catastrophe was narrowly averted on the I-40 Hernando DeSoto bridge, a 3.3-mile-long structure that crosses the Mississippi River and connects Memphis and Arkansas. A contractor working for the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT) noticed a gaping crack in a hollow steel girder, threatening the entire bridge span with collapse. 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