Heavy traffic expected following Stagecoach

Heavy traffic is expected Monday as fans return home following three-days of country-western performances before a sell-out crowd of 75,000 fans at the Stagecoach Music Festival at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio.

Luke Bryan closed out the Stagecoach Festival Sunday night after a day that also featured the Doobie Brothers, Dustin Lynch, and The Marshall Tucker Band.

Fans started leaving at the festival’s end Sunday, said Indio police Sgt. Dan Marshall. But just as Coachella Music Festival fans clogged the 10 Freeway the previous two Mondays, Stagecoach fans are expected to slow traffic as they leave the area by 10 a.m. Monday.

The big difference, Marshall said, is that the only camping allowed at Stagecoach was in RVs and they move slower than cars. “Most tend to travel in lanes 3 and 4,” he said. Morning motorists are advised to leave early for their destinations. The California Highway Patrol will have two extra officers along the 10 Freeway around Indio and to help people get over San Gorgonio Pass, he said.

Polo and Lacrosse will return to the Empire Polo Grounds now that the big festivals are done, Marshall said. That means groundskeepers will kick into high gear reviving grass.

“In two weeks, you won’t know Coachella and Stagecoach were here,” Marshall said.