Thousands of people who attended the first weekend of the Coachella Valley Music & Art Festival in Indio headed for home Monday, contributing to a rough commute out of the desert.
Traffic slowly bubbled up on Interstate 10 Monday morning starting at Jefferson Street in Indio. By the late afternoon, traffic cleared in Indio as motorists migrated westbound.
Delays worsened as motorists neared the Highway 111 and Interstate 10 interchange, where speeds hovered around 20 mph for an 15-mile stretch between Indian Canyon Drive in North Palm Springs and Apache Trail in Cabazon.
Once past the interchange, speeds increased to around 50 mph until the next major freeway interchange, where the Interstate 10 meets the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway, according to SigAlert.com.
While motorists who opted for Interstate 10 drove around 40 mph after the interchange, those taking the Moreno Valley Freeway were delayed again as a SigAlert was issued near Day Street in Moreno Valley due to a crash.
For those festivalgoers who have yet to leave the desert, officials reminded 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 northbound 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 resume Friday.