Bridge shut down briefly, but pipe was no bomb

CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. -- A Missouri Bootheel bridge was shut down briefly after someone spotted a pipe they feared was a bomb, authorities said Monday. The pipe turned out to be simply part of the bridge itself, and the bridge reopened a short time later.

The pipe was spotted during a routine inspection Sunday evening on the underside of the bridge that carries Interstate 155 traffic from Caruthersville into Tennessee. Pemiscot County Sheriff Tommy Greenwell said that with heightened security awareness in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, the bridge was closed as a precaution until Missouri Department of Transportation officials arrived. They confirmed the pipe was part of the bridge structure.

"As we know by watching the national news and listening to our leaders in Washington, life in the United States has been forever changed," Greenwell said.

In past week the bridge was shut down briefly while a military shipment passed beneath it, Greenwell said.