Contractor Hired to Fix Collapsed I-10 Bridge

A contractor was awarded an emergency contract today to repair Interstate 10, which was closed indefinitely between Route 86 and the Arizona State Line after a 30-foot section of a bridge collapsed amid heavy rains in Desert Center east of Palm Springs.

Representatives from Granite Construction Inc. were still evaluating the work to be done late today and did not immediately have a timetable for getting the vital route reopened, Caltrans officials said.

“You’ve got one section (of the bridge) that’s undermined and another section that’s missing,” Caltrans District 8 spokeswoman Terri Kasinga told City News Service. ’This could turn into something that’s a long-term detour.”

The bridge failed Sunday afternoon, trapping a truck driver, after heavy rains caused flooding in the area.

Firefighters responded to the scene at 4:43 p.m. Sunday, and began a cut- and-rescue operation on the eastbound side of the freeway near the Tex Wash, about a half-mile east of Eagle Mountain, according to Jennifer Fuhrman of the Riverside County Fire Department.

The location is about 50 miles west of Blythe and the Arizona border.

The truck driver, who sustained moderate injuries, was freed about 6:50 p.m. and taken to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, according to the CHP. A passenger had earlier made it out of the vehicle.

Caltrans structural engineers were on the scene this morning to begin assessing the damage at the site of the collapse and other surrounding washes and structures along that section of the I-10, Kasinga said.

Motorists were advised to avoid I-10 travel and use detour routes such as Arizona Route 95 to Interstate 40 or Interstate 8 to State Route 111 to Route 86 to get around the closure, she said.

READ MORE:

• Official: Freeway Bridge Failure Surprising
• Bridge Collapsed in Desert Center, Trapping Truck Beneath
• Severe Thunderstorm Floods Parts of Riverside
• I-10 Closes Indefinitely at Desert Center After Flood Washed Out Bridge
• Supervisors to Proclaim County Emergency Due to I-10 Closure

State Route 78 remained closed due to flooding. State Route 177 from Desert Center reopened about 2 a.m.

“But I would not advise any travel right now between Coachella and the Arizona state line,” Kasinga said. “If you don’t have to go, don’t go.”

Traffic backups were expected, Kasinga said, noting the interstate “is probably the biggest movement corridor in and out of Southern California.”

“A lot of trucks come from the port (of Los Angeles) get on the 10 and go straight on out,” she said.

By City News Service

Photo courtesy of John Hawkins/CalFire Riverside