An emergency closure of the Interstate-40 bridge across the Mississippi River has jammed traffic for over a month, hampering the region’s economic recovery from the pandemic and further straining an already stretched national supply chain. Typically, about 40,000 cars and trucks a day would cross the bridge, a double-arch steel structure that is almost 2 miles long.

Since the shutdown, average weekday speeds heading east on the alternate I-55 bridge have hovered around 20 miles per hour between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., compared with close to 50 mph before. This inhibits truckers who are required to stay within a daily allotment of hours behind the wheel. Furthermore, truckers are typically paid by the mile, and ongoing delays are contributing to the hiring challenge that trucking companies are already facing. Read the full report at The Wall Street Journal.