I-15 open in both directions after California bridge fire

Debris from the Ranchero Bridge project remains draped over the Interstate 15 on Tuesday May 6 2014 in Hesperia, Calif. A fire on the bridge, which burned through the night, reduced the bridge's wooden support structure to ash and caused steel girders to sag into the freeway below. Crews used heavy equipment to slowly drag collapsed remnants out of lanes. Both sides of the freeway reopened on Tuesday. (AP Photo/The Victor Valley Daily Press, James Quigg)

Firefighters try to contain a fire at a bridge construction site on Interstate 15 in Hesperia, Calif., on Tuesday, May 6, 2014. The blaze, which burned through the night, reduced the bridge's wooden support structure to ash and caused steel girders to sag into the freeway below. Crews used heavy equipment to slowly drag collapsed remnants out of lanes. (AP Photo/The Victor Valley Daily Press, James Quigg)

Motorist drive along the emergency lane as traffic on Interstate 15 came to a stop just south the Ranchero Interchange Bridge as it burned on Monday, May 5, 2014, in Hesperia, Calif. The California Highway Patrol's Carlos Juarez says the bridge at Ranchero Road caught fire at about 1:30 p.m. and Interstate 15 was closed soon after because of falling debris. (AP Photo/The Victor Valley Daily Press, David Pardo)

A contractor cuts steel re-bar as the remains of the Ranchero overcrossing bridge is torn down in Hesperia, Calif., on Tuesday, May 6, 2014. A fire on the bridge, which burned through the night, reduced the bridge's wooden support structure to ash and caused steel girders to sag into the freeway below. Crews used heavy equipment to slowly drag collapsed remnants out of lanes. (AP Photo/The Victor Valley Daily Press, James Quigg)

HESPERIA, Calif. — Traffic was flowing again on both sides of a major California-to-Nevada interstate after being blocked by a bridge fire that stalled travelers and left charred wreckage slumping into lanes.

Southbound lanes of Interstate 15 in the Mojave Desert town of Hesperia were reopened at 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, Caltrans spokeswoman Terri Kasinga said early Wednesday.

“This was way ahead of schedule,” she said. Officials had set a Wednesday morning target for reopening.

Northbound lanes were opened about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The route is a major artery between Southern California and Las Vegas.

The uncompleted overpass, located 60 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, caught fire Monday afternoon when a blowtorch being used to cut metal reinforcing bars ignited support timbers. Winds gusting to 35 mph fanned the flames.

Traffic was stalled for hours as the enormous structure burned through the night. Firefighters struggled to battle flames raging deep in the temporary wooden support structure. They contended with the winds, the danger of collapse and a limited water supply.

By morning, huge girders sagged onto the interstate below. Crews used heavy equipment to drag collapsed remnants out of lanes, but they also had to cut smaller reinforcing bars apart by hand. Tons of wood and steel were removed.

The freeway pavement was not badly damaged by the fire, officials said.