Thousands of people who attended the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music & Art Festival in Indio hit the road Monday, helping to make for a rough morning commute out of the desert.
Interstate 10 was clogged Monday morning starting at Jefferson Street in Indio. According to SigAlert.com, average speeds of 31 miles per hour at the freeway exit picked up near Monterey Avenue just a couple miles away.
Once out of the festival area, mild traffic slowed motorists to around 50 miles per hour with increased congestion at the Highway 111 and 10 Freeway interchange, and then again as 1-10 splits at the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway.
A SigAlert was issued on the 60 Freeway near Pigeon Pass Road due to a crash involving a downed power line, adding to the post-festival crawl.
For those festivalgoers who have yet to leave the desert, officials remind motorists of several significant road closures for the day:
— Avenue 49 between Hjorth and Monroe streets;
— Avenue 50 between Madison and Jackson streets;
— Hjorth Street between Avenue 49 and Avenue 50; and
— Madison Street between Avenue 49 and Avenue 52.
City officials recommended that north- and southbound motorists use Washington, Jackson and Calhoun streets as well as Golf Center Parkway; while east-west travelers were advised to use Highway 111, Fred Waring Drive, Miles Avenue, Dr. Carreon Boulevard and Avenue 54.
The festival will continue with around 160 acts next weekend at the Empire Polo Field, where capacity crowds of 125,000 a day are expected.