L.A.-to-Vegas highway reopened

Thursday, Aug. 21, 2003 | 11:14 a.m.

The main highway for gamblers to travel to Las Vegas from Southern California was reopened this morning after a day-long closure resulting from desert flooding produced a 220-mile detour for motorists.

Interstate 15 was reopened at 7:30 a.m. when the Oat Wash Bridge near Baker, Calif., damaged by floodwater, was deemed safe for travel.

Workers with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) worked overnight Wednesday and this morning to shore up the damaged bridge.

Holly Kress, public information officer for Caltrans in San Bernardino, Calif., said today that three of four columns supporting an overpass were undermined by rushing water in the desert wash. Kress said crews used steel I-beams and wooden framing materials to install a temporary repair on the bridge and make it safe for vehicular use.

The California Highway Patrol had diverted northbound traffic heading for Las Vegas at Barstow, Calif., east onto Interstate 40 to U.S. 95 near Needles, Calif., and north to Las Vegas.

Kress said the bridge on the southbound side of the highway was not affected by the flooding, so traffic bound for Southern California from Las Vegas was not diverted.

She said the alternative route resulted in a 220-mile detour for motorists. She said Caltrans decided not to divert northbound traffic onto a southbound lane of I-15 because of the heavy volume of traffic the highway normally carries.

Caltrans and the Nevada Department of Transportation estimate that a total of about 37,000 vehicles use the highway per day.

After the flash flood damaged the bridge, which is about five miles south of Baker, Calif., and 100 miles southwest of Las Vegas, the California Highway Patrol shut down the northbound lanes as a safety precaution Wednesday morning.

Kress said Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol, the Nevada Department of Transportation and the Nevada Highway Patrol have five predetermined detours planned in the event of a major accident blocking the highway.

"We're obviously pleased that authorities were able to identify and solve the problem and get I-15 open quickly," said Rob Powers, a spokesman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. "I-15 is critical not only to Las Vegas, but it's a major commerce route as well."

About 34 percent of Las Vegas' 35 million visitors in 2002 came from Southern California, according to the LVCVA.