"Settling" Causes Closing of Miss. River Bridge in Memphis

The Mississippi River bridge between Arkansas and Memphis, Tenn., was closed Monday after a bridge pier in a construction zone settled overnight. Engineers were inspecting the span.

"We want to be proactive and take all the traffic off the bridge so that our inspectors can take a very thorough look at the structure before making any further decisions," said Paul Degges, the chief engineer of the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

Motorists were diverted to Interstate 55, which parallels I-40.