US 95 section near Nevada-California border reopens after flooding

A portion of U.S. Highway 95 near the Nevada-California border that had been closed for hours Friday after a chunk of the highway collapsed during flash flooding Thursday night has reopened, according to the California Department of Transportation.

The road reopened around 7:15 p.m. Friday.

The flooding about 10:15 p.m. Thursday “washed a semitruck off the road,” spokeswoman Terri Kasinga said. The shoulder of the highway was washed out from underneath due to the flooding, causing the closure in both directions of U.S. 95 between Laughlin Highway and the state line.

Crews with the California Department of Transportation were working Friday to replace the asphalt, which was crucial, Kasinga said.

“If we don’t get this done before the next storm, we’ll lose one lane of the road,” Kasinga said. “The work that we’re doing right now will hopefully prevent it from happening.”

No one was injured when the semi was washed off the road, officials said.

On Feb. 17, 2017, a 400-foot-long section of California’s southbound Interstate 15, south of Highway 138, unexpectedly failed during ongoing storms. The collapse on California’s Cajon Pass sent a fire engine over the side of the highway, but no one was hurt.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.