The California Highway Patrol says that I-10 will be closed indefinitely after flood waters and heavy rains caused the Tex Wash bridge to collapse on Sunday afternoon.
A 30 foot section of the bridge collapsed on I-10 50 miles west of Blythe, trapping a pickup truck driver. A passenger in the pickup managed to escape without injury, but other motorists had to use straps to tie the truck to a guardrail to prevent it from being washed away. The pickup truck driver was cut from his vehicle by fire fighters. He sustained non life threatening injuries and was transported to the hospital.
Hundreds of vehicles were backed up for miles on I-10 following the bridge collapse.
The following detours have been suggested:Â Arizona Route 95 to Interstate 40 or Interstate 8 to State Route 111 to Route 86 to avoid I-10. Until repairs are made and engineers can ensure that the bridge is structurally sound, all lanes of I-10 will remain closed.
Authorities expect that the closure of I-10 will have a major impact on truck traffic in and out of the Port of Los Angeles.
Sources:
CNN
The Desert Sun
ABC 10 News
Caltrans District 8