Has the Brent Spence solution been proposed here?
In Cincinnati the existing 8-lane bridge will be relieved by building a new 10-lane bridge to carry the through traffic on I-71/75. The existing bridge will be reduced to 6 lanes with shoulders and limited to local traffic.
The Memphis version would be a new bridge somewhere to the south to carry the I-55 traffic with the old bridge limited to local traffic in and out of the city.
I don't see what Cincinnati has to do with this, and they're probably not thinking about it right now.
I think the point is to build a new bridge to connect to I-55 south of the French Fort and repurpose The M&A for local traffic. There has been hundreds of comments discussing that possibility. It even SEEMS to make better sense than what they currently have on the table.
to be fair, they do need a new crossing sometime soon, something 10-laned thats basically cable stayed and a massive widening project east into town, away from downtown, and west around west memphis.
the cable stayed bridge would be much better at resisting earthquakes and tornadoes if done right, and the new crossing would have piles going hundreds of feet in the ground to better withstand liquefaction that would be caused by the mississippi.
and it would obviously need to be tolled. now the city of memphis can basically add whatever they want to the bridge, including billboards, variable message signage, and whatever else they want, including a fancy new sign that showcases memphis' history and culture.
building such a bridge could also in theory jumpstart programs needed to get memphis from a crime ridden, and corrupt city, to basically something a bit better than they got currently and could help bring much needed economic jobs to the area.