A part of Interstate 10 in southeastern Arizona was reopened Thursday night after being closed for high winds and blowing dust, but it was shut down again Friday morning.
ADOT & DPS starting to close I-10 in both directions from US 191 to Lordsburg, NM due to high winds & blowing dust. Detour US 191 to US 70.
— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) May 6, 2016
DPS also tweeted about the closure:
@Arizona_DPS troopers have again initiated the I10 closure near San Simon.
— Kameron Lee, PIO (@dps_pio_lee) May 6, 2016
The Arizona Department of Public Safety says there have been multiple collisions due to blowing dust near San Simon recently, and a section of the freeway was closed twice in four days recently.
The DPS and the Arizona Department of Transportation are taking steps that include reducing the speed limit to 65 mph from 75 mph on a four-mile stretch of I-10. Also, equipment and personnel are positioned to quickly close the interstate.
@dps_pio_lee & Sgt. Shupe cont. patrolling closure on I-10 in Cochise County as high winds & dust worsten. #DPSNews pic.twitter.com/aYZ91DAfGN
— Raul Garcia, PIO (@dps_pio_garcia) May 6, 2016
The DPS says the speed limit may go down to 45 mph during some circumstances.
According to DPS, there's no timeframe for a solution and that motorists should expect closures whenever there are high winds.
Additional closures on Friday are also possible, authorities said.
