Kayaker’s Photos Show Crack in Closed I-40 Bridge in 2016

This undated photo released by the Tennessee Department of Transportation shows a crack in a steel beam on the Interstate 40 bridge, near Memphis, Tenn. An inspector who failed to discover the crack in the bridge linking Arkansas and Tennessee that prompted the span's closure has been fired. Tennessee Department of Transportation via AP, File

MEMPHIS, Tenn.—Photos taken by a Mississippi River kayaker about five years before a crack was found in the Interstate 40 bridge linking Tennessee and Arkansas appear to show the fracture that led transportation officials to close the span indefinitely last week.

Arkansas transportation officials said they cannot confirm or refute what’s shown in the 2016 photos, which raise questions about how early the crack appeared.