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. According to SigAlert.com, average speeds of 31 mph at the freeway exit only worsened as motorists neared the Highway 111 and 10 Freeway interchange, where speeds hovered around 15 mph for an eight-mile stretch between Indian Canyon Drive in North Palm Springs all the way to Whitewater Canyon Road in Whitewater.
Once past the interchange, speeds increased to around 40 mph until the next major freeway interchange, where the 10 meets the 60 Freeway, according to SigAlert.com. Whether motorists decided to take the 10 or 60, traffic was pacing along around 30 mph.
However, a SigAlert was issued on the 60 Freeway near Day Street in Moreno Valley due to a crash, adding to the post-festival crawl.
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 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.