According to the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) the I-10 Tex Wash bridge closure is adding an additional cost of $2.5 million per day to the trucking industry. If the segment remained closed for a month, the cost would total an additional $75 million to those trucks delivering freight in that area.
How ATRI made its calculations: The institute used federal estimates of truck counts to identify daily traffic along the closed stretch of I-10. ATRI then utilized its database of truck GPS data to verify in real-time where the majority of trucks are rerouting (routes below). Using ATRI’s Operational Cost of Trucking cost per mile to calculate the daily cost of the detours for those trucks and a monthly cost if the detour were to continue for a month.
Approximately 8,000 trucks impacted daily in the closed segment. Normal operations along the ~50-mile stretch of I-10 is $670,400 for those 8,000 trucks.
Assuming 4,000 trucks take the north detour and 4,000 take the south, those 8,000 trucks will experience an additional cost of $2.5 million per day. Again, if the segment remained closed for a month, the cost would total an additional $75 million to those trucks.
Two major detours:
South detour: SR-86 to SR-111 to I-8 to AZ-SR-85 (~292 miles)
North detour: SR-62 to AZ-SR-95 (~185 miles)
Please note that at this point we are not able to account for congestion on the detour routes, which would likely increase the delay and operating costs for those routes.