MEMPHIS, Tennessee — With no end in sight for when cars and trucks can again cross the I-40 Hernando de Soto bridge, there's also growing uneasiness with boat cargo stopped until further notice.
All movement on or under the bridge is blocked for now, after a routine inspection Tuesday uncovered a major crack in on its steel beams. Barge companies worry the delivery delays could end up costing many of us, with a likely bump in prices of certain goods.
"When I saw the pictured of the crack itself, it's like, this was really major," Ken Growth with American Commercial Barge Line said.
Groth's worst fears were realized, when the Coast Guard indefinitely shut down all Mississippi River boat traffic under the I-40 bridge as a precaution.
"It's a key link from north to south and that's what makes this very concerning to us," Groth said.
Groth said when Mississippi River freight screeches to a halt, lost time means lost money.
"Every day that that boat sits, becomes an unrecoverable expense to us," Groth said.
Data from the Waterways Council showed the traffic jam of anchored boats near the I-40 bridge became worse, nearly doubling from Wednesday to Thursday, when more than 40 boats carrying more than 700 barges total were reported.
"You can't make a U-turn. There's nowhere to go," Groth said.
"We are in really a supply chain almost emergency right now," Dr. Martin Lipinski at the University of Memphis added.
Since Mississippi River boat cargo carries everything from food to appliance parts, Dr. Lipinski and Groth worry about a negative economic ripple effect.
"It is going to impact us on a day to day basis," Dr. Lipinski said.
"We have a lot of empties that need to be brought northbound and reloaded, so it's stops everything, ultimately I fear our consumers are going to be ones who pay the most," said Groth.
