California I-10 bridge could have limited reopening in weeks, official says

The bridge on Interstate 10 that was washed out when a flash flood barreled down a Southern California desert gully could have a limited reopening within weeks.

While the eastbound span of the Interstate 10 bridge collapsed, the westbound span still stands — though severe erosion means it is not passable.

A spokesman for the California Department of Transportation said Monday that work crews plan to shore up the westbound span within several weeks. Eastbound traffic could then use one of the bridge's two lanes, for now.

Caltrans spokesman Will Shuck didn't have an exact time frame for the limited reopening, but said, "we're certainly not talking about months."

The bridge collapsed Sunday as remnants from a tropical storm dumped heavy rain on the desert about 50 miles west of the California-Arizona line.

The collapse left one driver injured, stranded numerous motorists and complicated travel for countless thousands for what officials earlier had warned could be a long time.

The closure will force motorists seeking to use I-10 to travel between California and Arizona to go hundreds of miles out of their way to Interstate 8 to the south or Interstate 40 to the north.

The Arizona Department of Transportation says I-10 westbound is closed in western Arizona near Quartzsite at State Route 95.

ADOT says westbound I-10 drivers will be detoured to State Route 95. Drivers traveling to Southern California may take SR 95 south to Interstate 8 and then travel west to California.

RELATED: Bridge closure highlights role of trucking in economy

DETOURS: How to get to Los Angeles and back

RELATED: Collapsed bridge had been given 'A' rating

MAP: Problem bridges in Arizona

EDITORIAL: A collapsed economic link

Motorists may also travel on SR 95 north to Parker, where drivers may cross into California using State Route 62 westbound.

Farther north, Interstate 40 is another route for travel between Arizona and California.

ADOT is also asking motorists to visit www.az511.gov, or follow the agency on Twitter. @ArizonaDOT. Motorists can also call 511.

Busy I-10 is the most direct route between the Los Angeles area and Phoenix. An average of more than 20,000 cars per day pass through the area that is shut down, according to federal highway statistics.

The bridge for eastbound traffic about 15 feet above the wash and about 50 miles west of the Arizona state line gave way and ended up in the flooding water below, the California Highway Patrol said, blocking all traffic headed toward Arizona. One driver of a pickup truck that fell with the freeway was injured, officials said.

The westbound section of the freeway near the tiny town of Desert Center was also closed. The roadway was intact but extremely undermined by flooding and could need just-as-extensive rebuilding, said Terri Kasinga, spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation.

No time frame was given for when either side would reopen as crews were diverted from other projects to examine the site.

"They won't even be able to begin assessing the damage until Monday," Kasinga said.

Transportation officials recommended travelers on the east side of the collapse use U.S. Highway 95 in Arizona to get to the other freeways, and that in California drivers use state routes 86 and 111 to get to Interstate 8 into Arizona.

One driver had to be rescued from a pickup truck that crashed in the collapse and was taken to a hospital with injuries, the Riverside County Fire Department said. A passenger from the truck was able to get out without help and wasn't hurt.

Hundreds of other cars were stranded immediately after the collapse, but the California Highway Patrol was working to divert them in the other direction off the freeway and it wasn't clear if any remained, Kasinga said.

Pamala Browne, 53, and her daughter were driving from Flagstaff, Arizona, to Palm Desert, California, when they got stranded when the westbound lanes were shut down.

"Oh my God, we are so stuck out here," Browne told the Desert Sun newspaper. "There's no end to the cars that are stuck out here."

The rains came amid a second day of showers and thunderstorms in southern and central California that were setting rainfall records in what is usually a dry month.

Rain fell Sunday afternoon in parts of Los Angeles County's mountains, the valley north and inland urban areas to the east as remnants of Tropical Storm Dolores brought warm, muggy conditions northward.

The showers forced the Los Angeles Angels' first rainout in 20 years and the San Diego Padres' first rainout since 2006.

Saturday's rainfall broke records in at least 11 locations, including five places that had the most rain ever recorded on any day in July, said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Sirard.

July is typically the driest month of the year in Southern California. Because of that, Saturday's 0.36 inch of rain in downtown Los Angeles exceeded the 0.24 inch recorded July 14, 1886, which had been the wettest July day in nearly 130 years.

The storm brought weekend flash floods and power outages and turned Los Angeles County's typically packed coast into empty stretches of sand when the threat of lightning forced authorities to close 70 miles of beaches.

Meanwhile, the summer storm has helped firefighters advance on two wildfires that broke out Friday.

Muggy, moist conditions were expected to persist through Monday.