Flood’s erosion led to span’s collapse

DESERT CENTER, Calif. — The interstate bridge that washed out in the desert between Los Angeles and Phoenix easily withstood its daily load of thousands of cars and trucks, but the pounding of an unusually powerful flash flood scoured away the land where the bridge was anchored, officials said Monday.

Water rushing through a normally dry desert gully eroded the land around the Interstate 10 bridge, causing one side of the eastbound span to collapse and forcing the indefinite closure of the westbound span.

Only one motorist was injured, but the rupture severed a highway vital to the movement of people and commerce between two of the nation’s largest cities. On an average day, the interstate carries about 27,000 vehicles in either direction.

Inspectors fanned out Monday to check all bridges along a 30-mile stretch of the freeway after a second bridge showed signs of damage after the storm Sunday, said Terri Kasinga, spokesman for the California Department of Transportation.