I-10 Bridge Repairs Continue After Collapse Snarls Traffic
CalTrans8California transportation officials said the area where a bridge collapsed on Interstate 10 was scheduled to partially reopen July 24, a move that would bring relief much sooner to truckers and other motorists who rely on the corridor that connects Southern California and Phoenix.
One lane will be accessible in each direction, where floodwaters caused the collapse of the Tex Wash bridge on July 19 near Desert Center, California, south of Joshua Tree National Park.
Caltrans, the agency at the California Department of Transportation that oversees highways and infrastructure construction, indicated rebuilding work on the eastbound span will start soon after traffic is directed to one lane.
After the collapse, motorists were advised to rely on detour routes — Arizona Route 95 to Interstate 40, Interstate 8 to state Route 111 to state Route 86, or state Route 177 to state Route 62 — to access I-10.
The detours were scheduled to remain in effect until July 24.
The trucking associations in California and Arizona cited American Transportation Research Institute data that noted the I-10 bridge closure was adding $2.5 million per day to the costs for the trucking industry.
Tony Bradley, CEO of the Arizona Trucking Association, said he worried the cost would be as high as $75 million if the section where the bridge collapsed continues to be inaccessible to trucks delivering freight. “It’s a hugely important corridor for commerce,” Bradley said.
According to Caltrans, trucking companies rely on the freeway as the most direct route to move goods to and from the California ports.
Of more than 27,000 vehicles that travel along that stretch, nearly 12% are trucks.
Speaking on the floor of the U.S. Senate on July 21, Sen. Barbara Boxer, (D-Calif.), said the I-10 bridge was a fresh example of aging infrastructure that needed urgent attention through federal dollars.
“Unreal that in my home state, we would have this bridge collapse. I say to my friends . . . commerce can’t move between California and Arizona ’cause we’ve had this collapse on Interstate 10,” Boxer said. She is the ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, a panel with jurisdiction over surface transportation. The Senate is considering legislation that would seek to expand funding for infrastructure.
Caltrans officials inspected other bridges that were hit by storms in the area and made minor repairs to two bridges.
A few years ago, the American Society of Civil Engineers reviewed the conditions of the transportation network and determined California would need to invest nearly $40 billion to pay for improvements in its infrastructure network.
The I-10 bridge is the latest high-profile collapse since the 2013 collapse of the Interstate 5 Skagit River bridge in Washington state. In both collapses, nobody was seriously hurt.
