The Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee, is now open after the US Coast Guard said that it is now safe for maritime traffic to continue.
The river was closed to vessel traffic due to a major fracture in a support beam on a bridge spanning the river. What is more, three of the four plates that make up the beam have separated completely.
After an inspection by the Tennessee and Arkansas Departments of Transportation, it is now considered that the bridge can hold its own weight, thus the waterway is considered safe.
Because of the vessel traffic stoppage, sixty-two ships and over a thousand barges were waiting to sail through the bridge.
However, the bridge itself remains closed to road traffic until a full repair is completed.
The bridge has been in operation for nearly 50 years, with exprets believing that the fracture was caused by fatigue.
