Wednesday morning marked the re-opening of Interstate 10 to traffic, east of Coachella, California. Monsoonal thunderstorm washed out the road near State route 177.
According to the California Highway Patrol, a one-lane 6-mile eastbound traffic detour was created around the collapsed bridge with a posted speed limit of 25 miles per hour. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) was still encouraging drivers to use other alternate routes.
But I-10 wasn't the only road hit by flooding due to monsoonal thunderstorms.
According to Caltrans, flooding also hit State Routes 177, 78 and 62. Highway 62 was also reopened from SR-177 to Vidal Junction, but closed westbound east of Twentyning Palms.
The storm-affected area was east of Desert Center. Alternate routes toward Arizona will force drivers to take detours a distance away from Interstate 10.
Interstate 40 is open to the north and Interstate 8 is open to the south near the Mexico border.
The westbound lanes of the I-10 in the area were also temporarily shut down as a big rig overturned. The westbound lanes were reopened open but officials said traffic was slow moving.
The eastbound I-10 lanes were expected to be closed for some time.
A flood watch remained in effect until late Thursday night as more storms were expected to sweep through the area and deliver heavy rainfall.
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Source: KESQ.com
