Part of the 10 Freeway damaged by flooding during a summer storm reopened Sunday after a four-day closure in Riverside County.
Delays plagued the main route between Los Angeles and Phoenix through the weekend as repairs continued on the section of freeway washed away last week. The washout was in a detour lane in a construction zone about 200 miles east of Los Angeles near the Arizona-California border.
Restoration of that lane means two eastbound lanes are now open on the desert highway.
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The stretch of the eastbound 10 Freeway was flooded east of Corn Springs Road at approximately 6:40 p.m. Wednesday. All lanes were closed after the washout, which left a large gap in the freeway.
One eastbound lane was opened Thursday east of Highway 177 near Desert Center. Road closures began east of Indio.
Photos posted by Caltrans showed water rushing through a gap in the pavement. Flooding also affected other roads in the region, including State Routes 177, 78 and 62.
A flash flood in the same area in July 2015 washed out a bridge on the eastbound side of I-10 and eroded the ground under the westbound bridge. The interstate was closed for nearly a week for repair of the westbound bridge, which then carried traffic on single lanes in each direction. The eastbound side did not reopen until September.
More flooding is possible through Thursday throughout a large swath of Southern California's mountains and deserts.
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.
