Folks from Memphis are so proud of living in the Big-M that they built their newest bridge in the shape of a big letter M. This has to be one of the most graceful spans across the mighty river. From a distance, it look thin and frail, yet up close, you realize what a huge monster of a structure it is. The bridge was lit a few years back, so Memphis has a night time light show attraction as well as a signature bridge.

An interesting fact is that both channels under the main spans are open for river navigation. While the east channel is part of the normal 9 foot navigation channel, the west channel can be used in periods of high water.

The Hernando De Soto bridge was closed for 9 hours on August 27, 2007, for an inspection after a sag was noticed in the roadway. A construction project has been underway to do a seismic retrofit to help the bridge withstand an earthquake on the nearby New Madrid Fault. Workers returned to the site that morning to find that a pier on the west side of the bridge has settled by 4 inches. Fortunately, this bridge is built with a redundant design, so it did not collapse. Inspectors found that the bridge deck was still adequately supported by other piers, so they reopened the structure.