WASHINGTON –U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) urged U.S. Department of Transportation leaders to support efforts to safely and efficiently repair the Interstate 40 bridge linking Arkansas and Tennessee.

Boozman, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, urged Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg to cooperate with local and state entities to help make the necessary repairs so the bridge can safely reopen.

“We’ve actually had to close the bridge. This is a very high trafficked corridor,” Boozman said. “It really is high stakes.”

Click here to watch Boozman urge a cooperative, proficient federal response to reopen the Hernando de Soto Bridge.

The bridge was closed as a result of an annual inspection that discovered a crack in a support beam. While vehicular traffic has been rerouted, transportation along this section of the Mississippi River has been halted indefinitely.

Boozman also pointed to this incident as a real-world example of the need for targeted investment for America’s core infrastructure, including roads and bridges. He supports the proposal authored by Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), which would fund $299 billion for repairing and modernizing highways and bridges.