Author ORCID Identifier:
Date of Graduation
12-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Civil Engineering
Advisor/Mentor
Hernandez, Sarah
Committee Member
Sasidharan, Lekshmi
Second Committee Member
Mitra, Suman
Keywords
Bridge Closure; Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test; Spatial Analysis; Vehicle Hours Traveled
Abstract
Bridge closures can negatively affect transportation networks causing freight delays, traffic congestion, economic losses, and increased travel time and travel distances. This study evaluates the impacts of the I-40 Hernando de Soto Bridge closure that occurred in 2021 on truck mobility across the South Central and Southeastern U.S. regions. The I-40 bridge connects Arkansas to Tennessee through Memphis and is one of four bridge crossings on Arkansas’s eastern border following the Mississippi river. Using data from the Arkansas Statewide Travel Demand Model (ARSTDM), vehicle hours traveled (VHT) were estimated under both bridge-open and -closed scenarios for four time periods: morning, midday, afternoon, and nighttime. Visualization using maps of percentage differences in total VHT for trucks across the study area allowed for spatial analysis of the impacts. Links with increases exceeding 4% which represent the top 15% of all link-level changes, were classified as the most severely affected. Results show that corridors like I-64/I-70 and I-20 experienced over 4% increases in travel times, while Ohio, Southern Georgia, and Southern Florida showed changes between 0% and 1%. To assess statistical significance, a two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test was applied to the most affected links. The test revealed statistically significant differences in the VHT distributions between the open and closed scenarios for all time periods, with the nighttime period having the fewest links exceeding the 4% threshold. Together, spatial and statistical analyses highlight the regional nature of freight disruptions and the importance of resilient infrastructure planning.
Citation
Ashqui, L. (2025). A Spatial and Statistical Evaluation of Truck Travel Disruptions from the I-40 Bridge Closure. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/6022
