Interstate 10 Shutdowns Delayed Until After New Year

Crews working on the new overpass at Indian Canyon Drive and Interstate 10 in Palm Springs were forced to delay a key part of the process by rain.

As part of the $16.5 million reconfiguration work on the over-crossing there, motorists will be taken off westbound Interstate 10. Westbound drivers will simply go down the off-ramp and back up the on-ramp on the other side.

Eastbound drivers will get the same off- and on-ramp treatment.

The work originally was scheduled for last weekend, but the prospect of light rain led to the delay, said Dennis Green of the Riverside County Transportation Department. Now, more rain is in the forecast.

The closure has now been delayed until after the New Year.

“We’ll take you straight off the off-ramp, take you straight back down the other side and you’re off,” Green said earlier. “These are the simplest detours you can have for full freeway closure.”

The closures are the latest scheduled as work proceeds on long-awaited improvements to six I-10 interchanges from Desert Hot Springs to Indio.

At the Indian Canyon Drive interchange, a six-lane bridge that includes bike lanes on both sides is in the works, along with other improvements.

During the closure periods next week, contractors will be installing girders needed to support the new bridges. Then it should be smooth sailing for motorists until mid-2011 when the old bridge will be demolished.

About 7,300 cars are counted each hour on average along that stretch of Interstate 10, though fewer passings are recorded at night, according to Caltrans.