Portion of One of California's Busiest Interstates Washes Away in Flood

Severe flash flooding destroyed a section of Interstate 10 near the border between California and Arizona Wednesday night. Eastbound lanes of the highway remain closed about 16 miles east of Desert Center, California, as of Thursday.

The flooding event took place just after 8:00 p.m. local time on Wednesday night when as much as three inches of rain fell in rapid order, KTLA reports. That might not sound like much for the folks back east, but that amount of rainfall in the desert can create real havoc. The floodwater had devastating impacts on Interstate 10 south of Joshua Tree National Park, with entire swaths of the road being torn apart.

I-10 is one of only three transcontinental highways in the United States, and remains a vital route between Los Angeles and neighboring Arizona. Several alternative routes, including Highway 62, Highway 177 and Highway 78, were also impacted by the flooding, according to the LA Times. The paper also reports that seven semi trucks were overturned in the washout conditions, while one individual was injured at the scene.

CalTrans crews are actively working on clearing multiple alternative routes, as well as assessing the damage done to I-10, according to their Twitter updates. While both the eastbound and westbound lanes of I-10 were initially closed, westbound lanes were not impacted in the same way and have since reopened.

I-10 starts in Santa Monica before working its way east through Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Palm Springs. While this particular section near the Arizona border isn’t as busy as other areas, the highway remains well-traveled in every respect. CalTrans has yet to release an estimated timeline for the repairs, though it’s clear this will require some serious construction work.

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