I-40 bridge adds twists for medical transports

The I-40 Hernando de Soto Bridge crossing the Mississippi River connecting Arkansas and Tennessee on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. The bridge has been closed since inspectors found a fracture in the bridge. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)
The I-40 Hernando de Soto Bridge crossing the Mississippi River connecting Arkansas and Tennessee on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. The bridge has been closed since inspectors found a fracture in the bridge. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)

With the Interstate 40 bridge over the Mississippi River being closed, officials on the Arkansas side of the river have had to make plans in case of medical emergencies in which patients need to be transported to Memphis.

The Elvis Presley Trauma Center at Regional One Health in Memphis is the only Level 1 trauma center within a 150-mile radius of the city.

DeWayne Rose, director of emergency management for the city of West Memphis, said authorities have access to two medical helicopter providers, and in the case of inclement weather, the Memphis Fire Department has offered the use of its fire boat.

"Its actually a very sophisticated vessel," said Rose.

He said it's about 5 miles by boat from the Port of West Memphis to Harbor Town on Mud Island, on the Tennessee side of the river.

But Rose is concerned that inclement weather in the air might also mean choppy water on the river.

Rose said they've yet to use the boat, and they're not using the helicopters any more than usual.

So far, the Interstate 55 bridge has sufficed for transferring patients to Memphis.

"Unfortunately, it only takes one wreck on that bridge to bring everything to a standstill," said Brian Welton, CEO and administrator at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Crittenden, the hospital in West Memphis.

Welton said he has been having regular meetings with emergency personnel since the Hernando de Soto Bridge on Interstate 40 was closed on May 11 because of a crack in a beam. Highway officials don't know yet how long the bridge will be closed, but it could be months.

So, for the first time since 1973, there's only one bridge open to vehicular traffic between Memphis and West Memphis -- the four-lane Interstate 55 bridge, also known as the Memphis and Arkansas Bridge.

Although traffic has been backed up for miles into West Memphis at times, it hasn't been at a standstill on the bridge, said Welton. He said traffic is usually moving at 15 to 20 miles per hour on the bridge, even at rush hour.

Still, to help facilitate the planned transfer of patients to and from Memphis, Welton said ambulances often make those runs in the wee hours -- between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. -- to avoid traffic entirely.

"We are a general acute-care facility like most of the other hospitals in the metropolitan area," said Welton.

He said the West Memphis hospital treats patients suffering from gunshots, stroke, heart attacks and injuries from car accidents.

But if the injuries warrant critical care or other specialty work, Welton said patients are transported to another hospital, such as the Baptist Memorial Hospitals in Memphis or Jonesboro.

The transportation issue was a concern on May 19 when a 39-year-old Pennsylvania truck driver was shot while driving on an on-ramp to the bridge.

"I think he had a bullet in his arm and one in his rib cage," said Todd Grooms, chief of the criminal investigation division at the Crittenden County sheriff's office.

Grooms said it appeared to be a road-rage incident.

By the time officers got to the scene, the shooter was gone, he said.

West Memphis Mayor Marco McClendon said he will seek funding to buy all-terrain vehicles so emergency personnel can more quickly get onto the bridge and assist injured people if necessary.

The mayor said ATVs would be able to navigate between cars and trucks on the four-lane I-55 bridge and transport an injured person to a waiting ambulance or helicopter.

Nick Coulter, a spokesman for the city of West Memphis, said the ATVs being discussed would be similar to the type used during professional football games to take injured players off the field.

If it takes months to get the Interstate 40 bridge repaired and reopened, the ATVs will be essential for emergencies on the Interstate 55 bridge, said Coulter.

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