The cracked section could have had doublers added to it, and the load limit on the bridge reduced, forcing heavy trucks to have to take an alternate route, but the bridge should have been reopened to traffic long before this.
Yes something could be done probably even before determining the root cause.
But even that costs money that they must spend on welfare ne’er-do-wells.
The alternate route (1-55) bridge was built in 1949 and ends at a stop light in down town Memphis. The best thing to do is take the time to do a thorough repair of the I-40 bridge, just not a band aid repair to get traffic moving.