Las Vegas, NV (October 16, 2024) – Altitude by Geotab, A two-week closure in June of the highly-traveled Memphis-Arkansas bridge connecting the states of Arkansas and Tennessee resulted in an 1750% increase in harsh driving events such as harsh braking and fast accelerations. An Altitude by Geotab study on commercial freight data on 5 key U.S. bridges reveals that closures, whether short or long term, can have a significant impact on traffic congestion, increased risk of harsh events, and disruptions to the movement of goods beyond the region.
Geotab ITS provided a snapshot into what can be expected with a longer term replacement project and 2026 planned closure of the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge.
- The closure of the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge for two weeks in June 2024 led to increased traffic volume and travel times on the Hernando de Soto Bridge, with a 70.8% increase in travel time into TN and a 13.9% increase into AR during peak hours.
- The other key state bridge, the Hernando de Soto Bridge (which already handles 63% of all trips between the states) saw an increase of 61% in trip counts and total vehicle counts rose by 23%.
- Total harsh event counts peaked at 3 p.m., with 74 total harsh events recorded during the hour for vehicles traveling into Tennessee. This represents a 1,750% increase in harsh events observed on the Hernando de Soto Bridge during the closure compared to when the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge was open.
- Heavier traffic congestion along the Hernando de Soto Bridge could result in disruptions to commercial vehicle movement into Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana, and Missouri.

A map showing origin and destination insights for long-haul commercial vehicles. Green hexagonal areas indicate the journey stop locations of vehicles that crossed the bridge heading from Tennessee into Arkansas while en route to their destinations. Orange hexagonal areas indicate the journey stop locations of vehicles that crossed the bridge from Arkansas to Tennessee.
“Bridges are critical to communities whether they connect cities, states or large regional hubs and definitely need to be cared for, maintained and replaced. Using our commercial vehicle freight data, we conducted analyses of five important bridges across North America to demonstrate the potential effects of a significant disruption on the surrounding roads, driver safety, and regional economies,” said Geotab’s Nate Veeh, Associate Vice-President, Altitude by Geotab. “These bridges had a lot to tell us including how far-reaching the impacts of a potential bridge shutdown could be on more distant locations’ supply chains.”
In its bridge analysis report, Altitude by Geotab studied the widespread effects of potential closures to show organizations how they can form better transportation plans with real world data. The study focused on five major U.S. bridges in and across California, New York, Tennessee, Michigan and Maryland and included the impact of closures, severe weather, and traffic patterns so that communities can prepare for replacement projects in advance.