September target to fully reopen Interstate 10 in California

DESERT CENTER, Calif. (AP) - California transportation officials say they'll need to the end of September - and about $5 million - to fully reopen the desert highway where flash flooding washed out a bridge.

The state's department of transportation announced the plans Tuesday.

Interstate 10 partially reopened Friday, less than a week after a wall of water rushing through a gully scoured away soil that held the eastbound span over Tex Wash in place.

Traffic is squeezing by on one lane in each direction, as vehicles share the westbound span, which itself needed significant repair work.

The bridge is located about 50 miles west of the California-Arizona border, near the town of Desert Center.

Officials say the eastbound span will be demolished and replaced, with current estimate pegging the cost at about $5 million.