Traffic flowing again after suspicious package forces closure on I-10

Traffic was backed up for several miles Tuesday when a suspicious package prompted the California Highway Patrol to temporarily shut down eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 through Indio.

The pipe bomb looking device was discovered by a Cal Trans crew about 9:45 a.m. on the freeway near the Monroe Avenue exit, Officer Rudy Garcia said.

Several viewers called our newsroom stating that traffic was backed up to Washington Street and they were being diverted off the freeway at the Monroe offramp.

The Riverside County sheriff’s bomb squad eventually determined the item was not a threat, and when opened they discovered a half a pound of Methamphetamine inside, says CHP Officer Stephanie Hamilton.

The freeway was reopened by 12:30 p.m.