A Raised Intersection in California Collapsed After A Heavy Down Pour

A raised section of Interstate 10 collapsed Sunday amidst a violent downpour in the California desert. 

Traffic was cut off on both directions of a main corridor between Southern California and Arizona, stranding many motorists and stopping travel for thousands.  So far, one driver was rescued from a pickup truck that crashed in the collapse and was taken to a hospital with moderate injuries. 

Spokeswoman Terri Kasinga for the California Department of Transportation said the Interstate 10 is closed completely and indefinitely. The bridge for eastbound traffic about 15 feet above a dry wash about 50 miles west of the state of Arizona also collapsed and ended up in the flooding water below.  The California Highway Patrol said that it ended up blocking traffic headed toward Arizona.  Those were not the only closed roads because the westbound section of the freeway near the town of Desert Center was also undermined by the flooding even if it was intact. Kasinga said that it could also need some rebuilding.

There is no time frame as to when either side of the bridge would reopen.  Crews from other projects had to leave their current posts to come to examine the site.

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

Therefore those who need to travel between California and Arizona would be have to go hundreds of miles out of their way to Interstate 8 to the south or Interstate 40 to the north and the I-10 is the most direct route between Phoenix and parts of Southern California, including Los Angeles.

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