In this aerial image from video provided by Fox 11 Los Angeles is a washed out section of Interstate 10 near Desert Center, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022. Officials say the main highway from Los Angeles to Phoenix has been damaged by a flash flood that washed out lanes on the eastbound side of Interstate 10 in the Southern California desert near the Arizona state line. Heavy rain from monsoonal thunderstorms Wednesday evening caused the latest round of flooding and also impacted other desert highways. (Fox 11 Los Angeles via AP)
DESERT CENTER, Calif. (AP) — Highway workers have opened a second lane for travel on the main route from Los Angeles east to Phoenix after repairing damage caused by monsoonal flooding last week.
The second lane was restored on Interstate 10 near Desert Center, the California Department of Transportation announced on social media early Sunday.
On Aug. 24, monsoonal thunderstorms unleashed flooding that damaged eastbound lanes that were serving as a detour past an ongoing construction site.
Eastbound traffic was completely blocked until Caltrans was able to open one lane the next morning, but warned of heavy delays.
Initially, officials closed traffic in both directions. Westbound lanes for traffic from Arizona to California was reopened, followed by one eastbound lane of the highway.
Flash floods earlier this summer badly damaged roads in Death Valley National Park, which caused hundreds of visitors to be stranded by floodwaters and debris-covered roads.
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