WHITE PINE, Tenn. -- Tennessee highway officials said Friday that inspections will be stepped up on an Interstate 40 bridge in Jefferson County already slated for replacement that shares the same deck truss design as the bridge that collapsed this week in Minnesota.

Video: Teen. Inspects Bridges Similar To Minn. Collapsed Bridge

The 2,416-foot span over the French Broad River, about 40 miles east of Knoxville, is one of five bridges in the state getting a re-inspection because of the Minneapolis tragedy Wednesday that killed at least five people.

"We want to see the outcome of the investigation in Minneapolis," Paul Degges, chief engineer at the Tennessee Department of Transportation, told a news conference held on the I-40 bridge.

"Until we get that report we've made a determination we are going to put this bridge on an annual inspection cycle. We are going to double up on this bridge," he said.

National standards require bridges to be inspected every two years. Degges said more frequent inspections are performed if problems surface.

The four-lane I-40 bridge, which opened in 1960 and carries some 57,000 vehicles a day, is rated as deficient, though structurally sound, because of a deteriorating road deck. Planning is under way to replace the bridge in 3 to 5 years for around $34 million.

Four of the five bridges being inspected are in East Tennessee. The fifth is located in Middle Tennessee, near Smithville. The reviews could take several days. One of the bridges, in Carter County, was inspected, coincidentally, on Monday before the Minneapolis collapse.

Degges said the distinctive feature of a deck truss design is that the road sits on top of the trusses with no visible support above the road.

The other bridges getting inspections are:

Dekalb County: State Route 56 over the Caney Fork River. The Hurricane Bridge was built in 1949, this 1,787-foot span is rated in fair condition. The first phase of that inspection involves chaining which involves actually listening to the concrete. The sound changes where the concrete below is delaminating. The head of TDOT's bridge inspection team said it is something that can be fixed by cutting out a square of the old concrete and pouring new. Next week TDOT will use a piece of equipment called a reach-all to inspect the underside of the Hurricane Bridge, where they will look at the bolts and check the steel for cracks and fatigue.

Carter County: State Route 67 over the Watauga River. Built in 1946, the 1,091-foot bridge received a major rehabilitation a few years ago. It was inspected Monday and is rated in fair condition.

Sullivan County: Netherland Inn Bridge. Owned by the City of Kingsport, this 564-foot bridge opened in 1937 is slated to become a pedestrian bridge with a new span for vehicles built beside it.

Knox County: Gay Street Bridge over the Tennessee River. Built in 1897, this 1,486-foot bridge received a two-year, $15.7 million renovation completed in 2004.

It's recommended for a bridge deck replacement which would cost more than $9 million. But it's been considered to be in good shape and not on the list of structurally deficient bridges.

The inspection will take two weeks.

The inspection team examining the I-40 bridge walked the roadway. They used a boom truck to lift them over the side and underneath to view the trusses at arm's length. Then they checked the connections at the peers and underwater from a boat.

"The tragedy in Minneapolis certainly brings the issue of bridge safety to the forefront," TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely said in a news release Friday. "We want to assure everyone that the integrity of our bridges is a top priority at TDOT and we will continue to look for any improvements that could be made to our Bridge Program."

There are 19,591 bridges on public roads in Tennessee. Of these, 1,202 or 6 percent, are classified as structurally deficient and another 2,938, or 15 percent, are considered functionally obsolete, TDOT said.

"There are some problems with some bridges, but Tennessee has not ignored these issues over the years," Gov. Phil Bredesen said Friday.

The state will spend about $100 million this year on bridge inspections, repairs and maintenance, and has spent some $1.5 billion on its bridge program since 1982, Degges said.

The Federal Highway Administration on Thursday advised state transportation departments across the nation to conduct inspections of 756 bridges similar to the Minneapolis bridge.

Tennessee transportation officials said Thursday that the state has enough money to ensure the safety of its bridges, despite the federal government cutting $12 million from its bridge repair and replacement fund.

Degges said some repair projects have been postponed by federal cuts, but none are critical and the department would shift money from other areas if any urgent work was needed.