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PHOENIX — Damage to Interstate 10 could make travel between Phoenix and Los Angeles precarious until the road is repaired, officials warned Thursday, just ahead of the busy Labor Day weekend in the latest bout of punishing monsoonal thunderstorms that have hit the region this summer.
The newest round of flooding started Wednesday evening, damaging a roadway that was part of a detour past a repair project along eastbound Interstate 10 near the small community of Desert Center, California, about 165 mileseast of Los Angeles. But the road was reopened with some delays Thursday, according to the California Department of Transportation.
Almost 30,000 people a day travel the freeway. Traffic in both directions was halted initially, but westbound lanes for motorists heading from Arizona to California reopened later.
Here’s what we know about the damaged highway right now:
Tens of thousands of people travel the freeway each day
That section of road, between State Route 177 and the California-Arizona border, is undergoing heavy construction, and before the storm, drivers were routed to a bypass to allow for the work. The storm washed out that bypass for eastbound traffic heading toward Arizona.
Almost 30,000 people a day travel the freeway.
The area got about three-quarters of an inch of rain Wednesday evening, according to the National Weather Service. But the main roadway has a usable eastbound lane, which was reopened Thursday morning, according to Caltrans.
Traffic was flowing through the area at 35 to 45 miles per hour just before noon Thursday, according to online monitor Sigalert.
Officials had no estimate on how long it would take to rebuild the eastbound lanes, which means travelers heading from California to Arizona could see continued delays.
The washout recalls a similar flash flood in 2015 that took out eastbound lanes of the Tex Wash Bridge on I-10 west of Blythe, stranding hundreds of drivers and forcing lengthy detours throughout the week.
When that happened, Caltrans had to pave a crossover in the median so eastbound traffic could use one lane of the westbound lanes to get over the bridge, then cross over the median again to get back to the eastbound lanes. That also restricted westbound traffic to one lane until the bridge was eventually repaired.
Detours could add extra time to travel
Caltrans did not immediately respond to questions regarding how long repairs to the roadway could take, or whether additional storms could further damage I-10. But a Highway Patrol officer told the Desert Sun, part of the USA TODAY Network, that there was no estimate yet on repair time.
“I know last time this happened it was quite awhile,” California Highway Patrol Officer Kevin Mallett said.
The National Weather Service said more flooding was possible through Thursday throughout a large swath of Southern California’s mountains and deserts.
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Flash floods earlier this summer badly damaged roads in Death Valley National Park, the Mojave National Preserve and on the southern side of Joshua Tree National Park.
Officials called the Aug. 5 deluge in Death Valley historic. Hundreds of visitors were initially stranded by floodwaters and debris-covered roads. It took about two weeks for the park to reopen its most popular areas.
Contributing: Ani Gasparyan, Palm Springs Desert Sun; The Associated Press
Follow Ryan Randazzo on Twitter @UtilityReporter.
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