DESERT CENTER – (INT) – Caltrans estimates it will cost $5 million to replace the eastbound I-10 bridge at the Tex Wash that collapsed during a flash flood last week.

Interstate 10 is open in both directions utilizing the westbound span that has been repaired.

Caltrans says the remains of the eastbound bridge will be demolished and estimates that a replacement bridge will be open by late September ‘utilizing accelerated construction techniques’.

The bridge that collapsed was built in 1967 and was considered 'functionally obsolete', according to the 2014 National bridge inventory. It was among hundreds of bridges across California in need of replacement or repair.

Interstate 10 carries about 27,000 vehicles a day across the Riverside County desert and is a major economic artery linking Southern California and Arizona.

Story Date: July 31, 2015