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Opinion | What did inspectors know, and when did they know it? Tough questions about the now closed I-40 bridge | Richard Ransom

“Are you concerned, like I am, that damage on the bridge was spotted two years ago, and no action was taken until this week's inspection?,” asks Richard Ransom.

MEMPHIS, Tennessee — In Friday’s Ransom Note: unanswered questions about the I-40 bridge shutdown.

First thing’s first. I don’t want to sound ungrateful to the inspectors who found that huge crack in a support beam and --as engineers described it-- probably prevented a catastrophe.

This could have been much more than the inconvenience it is right now, but are you concerned --like I am-- that damage on the bridge was spotted two years ago, and no action was taken until this week's inspection? And are you concerned that a bridge of that size, with 40,000 to 50,000 cars a day, built in the early 1970's, gets a routine inspection only every couple of years?

To its credit, the Arkansas Department of Transportation was transparent and verified the pictures are real, and it promised to get to the bottom of who screwed up and why, although using more diplomatic language than that. Count on us to keep you posted on what they find out.    

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