TRAFFIC ALERT: Coachella festival traffic ties up local roads

Around 120,000 people are expected to pour out of the desert Monday using area freeways, and causing backups and delays for miles. The mass exodus follows the second and final weekend of the annual Coachella Music & Art Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.

Nearly a third of the travelers leaving the Coachella Valley will be campers, Indio city officials said, with shuttles and buses adding to the festival’s traffic exodus.

The majority of this traffic is expected to affect Interstate 10. CalTrans officials urged festival attendees to leave earlier in the day to avoid the brunt of the delays.

Officials also alerted the public to several significant road closures for the day:
— Avenue 49 between Hjorth and Monroe streets;
— Avenue 50 between Madison and Jackson streets;
— Hjorth Street between Avenue 49 and Avenue 50; and
— Madison Street between Avenue 49 and Avenue 52

City officials recommend that north- and south-bound motorists use Washington, Jackson, and Calhoun streets as well as Golf Center Parkway; while east-west travelers were advised to use Highway 111, Fred Waring Drive, Miles Avenue, Dr. Carreon Boulevard and Avenue 54.

Stay with News Channel 3 for live morning traffic reports and updates in your Time Saver Traffic updates at 6:15 a.m. and 6:45 a.m.