A temporary detour that will allow traffic to flow in both directions on I-10 near Eagle Mountain was expected to be completed today, relieving the overtaxed State Route 62 through the Morongo Basin of an estimated 15,000 vehicles a day. State officials have yet to estimate how long it will be until the entire bridge is rebuilt. California will receive $2 million in federal funding to help fix the Tex Wash bridge along Interstate 10, officials said Thursday. The bridge injured one person and shut down traffic between Los Angeles and Phoenix when it collapsed during a major storm over the weekend. Since then, motorists have been forced to take alternate routes that have added at least an hour to their drives. An economist estimated the bridge collapse cost more than $1.5 million of unexpected costs to travelers and businesses—and 19,000 wasted hours for truck drivers—per day. Acting Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau said the emergency relief funding would “make immediate repairs possible throughout the area and allow this interstate to open again.”
