I-10 east back open after temporary closure

UPDATE -  7/19/2023
Interstate 10 east is once again open after about an hour delay Wednesday morning, July 19.

For about an hour between 7:45 and 9 a.m. traffic was backed up and unpassable east of North Main St. due to a fire with a truck hauling tires.

“The highway is now open,” Dan Trujillo, City of Las Cruces Public Information Officer for Police & Fire, said Wednesday morning at 9:20 a.m.

Fires with tires can be difficult to extinguish, Trujillo said.

However, the I-10 east overpass to connect with I-25 north remains closed for inspections and investigation following a truck crash July 11.

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In case you didn’t realize, the 1-25 crossover bridge, which carries traffic from eastbound Interstate 10 to northbound Interstate 25 is still closed.

The Bulletin has not received a return call from the New Mexico Department of Transportation on how long it might stay closed, as inspections for structural safety on the bridge continue following a tanker truck crash July 11.

Only one vehicle was involved, and the Department of Transportation said the driver escaped without injury. The commercial motor vehicle involved, a tanker truck, rolled over and caught fire. The flames and smoke were visible for miles Tuesday evening. 

The bridge crossover continues to be inspected by officials for structural safety.

Firefighters from the Las Cruces Fire Department (LCFD), Doña Ana County and New Mexico State University responded to the fire, LCFD said in a news release, along with area law enforcement.

First crews on the scene “discovered the fuel tanker fully engulfed in flames with fire extending from the bridge down onto the shoulder of I-10,” LCFD said.

Fire crews, including LCFD’s HazMat Team and the Aircraft Rescue Firefighting Team, battled the fire and brought it under control by about 9:20 p.m., LCFD said.

The incident is under investigation by the New Mexico State Police.