Boulders Crash Down On I-8, Closing Road From San Diego To Phoenix

The drive to San Diego from Phoenix is made by many Arizona residents wanting to escape the heat of the summer. On Sunday, the aftermath in Southern California of Hurricane Hilary gave drivers on that road an unfortunate and very potential scary situation.

Several miles of Interstate 8 eastbound, between the towns of Jacumba and Ocotillo was shut down. Drivers were stuck for hours in both directions after massive rockslide triggered by a storm Sunday afternoon closed the highway.

The California Department of Transportation crews had to use explosives to clear the road. It was reported that some of the boulders that crashed on to the highway were estimated to be as big as school buses.

Crews working around the clock to clear the roads. It was a major effort. In order for the massive boulder to be removed, explosives needed to be used to blow up the boulders. Workers drilled holes into the boulders, added the explosives and continued until the rocks were small enough to be removed with machinery.

I-8 is expected to reopen on Tuesday morning.

The closure had traffic backed up in both directions for many miles. To ease the congestion, the California Department of Transportation diverted eastbound traffic onto westbound lanes and allowed up to 15 minutes for traffic to flow through and then switched back and forth.

Some drivers trying to return to the Valley reported waited as long as three hours to get through.