California declares state of emergency in six counties following I-10 bridge collapse

Officials from the California Department of Transportation plan to partially reopen the closed-off section of the important freight thoroughfare Friday.    California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency for Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Diego, Imperial and Kern Counties Wednesday as heavy rains and flooding continue to pound the southern portion of the state.
   Flood waters Sunday caused the collapse of a 30-foot section of an Interstate 10 bridge overpass just east of Indio, Calif.
   Newsom ordered the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to “formally request immediate assistance through the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief Program” to obtain funding for emergency repairs and reconstruction.
   Caltrans said in a commuter alert Monday that traffic on a 100-mile eastbound stretch of I-10 – from the State Route 177 junction to just East of State Route 86 – would be rerouted to other highways while Caltrans structural engineers assess the damage.
   According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Transportation said the overpass bridge was “healthy, happy and fine until a wall of water hit it,” and received a 91.5 score out of 100 for structural integrity in an inspection earlier this year.
   Interstate 10, which runs across the U.S. from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, Fla., is one of the largest freight roadways in the country and plays a critical role in providing last-mile connections to ports, manufacturing facilities, intermodal terminals, and warehouses and distribution centers. The highway serves as the primary overland route for inland connections from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the largest U.S. gateway for containerized ocean cargo. Traffic volumes along I-10 between the Coachella Valley in California and Arizona average about 27,000 vehicles per day, according to Caltrans, and about a third of those vehicles are commercial.
   Closing a cargo thoroughfare of this size adds significant costs to the shipping industry, especially for trucking carriers, and underscores the need for a federal transportation and infrastructure funding plan.
   According to the trucking industry research group American Transportation Research Institute, the I-10 closure is adding an estimated $2.5 million per day to the industry’s costs in the form of cargo delays and increased driver and fuel costs. The U.S. Senate agreed Wednesday to begin debate on a six-year bill to reauthorize surface transportation programs for infrastructure investment and safety, but political observers wonder if legislators wills be able to agree on a funding source before the current measure expires July 31.
   In a separate alert, Caltrans announced the Tex Wash Bridge section of I-10 would be reopened to eastbound traffic at 12 p.m. local time Friday, July 24. Caltrans said its crews would strengthen the westbound side of the bridge, which also sustained damage during the storms, to allow the resumption of two-way traffic – one lane in each direction.
   “Once I-10 is opened, minor work will be performed on the westbound side and work will commence on the eastbound side of the structure to get it operational. The existing detours will remain in effect until the opening of I-10,” added Caltrans.