WORK ONGOING TO REOPEN I-10 FRIDAY AT NOON

Sate traffic experts say they will reopen I-10 with one lane in both directions this Friday. Yesterday, road construction workers put in the foundation for a detour that will let traffic flow again on Interstate 10 following Sunday’s storm-caused bridge collapse near Desert Center. A Caltrans spokesman said when it is done, eastbound traffic will cross the center median just east of Eagle Mountain Road. They will travel about 1,500 feet before entering the left westbound lane for about 600 feet. The drivers will cross the median again for another 1,500 feet before continuing on the eastbound lanes. The detour around the Tex Wash Bridge is expected to be completed by noon Friday, when traffic is scheduled to resume in both directions on I-10 near Blythe. Since the closing of Interstate 10, some 15,000 vehicles a day have been traveling through our Morongo Basin on State Route 62.