Westbound Interstate 10 was cleared of traffic and entrance ramps were shut down Saturday afternoon from Banning to Redlands for a convoy of limousines, other vehicles, and a rolling California Highway Patrol escort coming from the Coachella Valley.
Hundreds of motorists were stopped at entrance ramps from 22nd Street, Sunset Avenue, Highland Springs Avenue and Beaumont Avenue around the same time Chinese President Xi Jinping and his delegation were reportedly bound for Ontario International Airport after a two-day meeting with President Barack Obama in Rancho Mirage.
A CHP dispatcher in Indio reached just before 4 p.m. while the convoy was rolling through the San Gorgonio Pass said she had no information about a limousine convoy or escort.
Banning-Beaumont Patch followed the convoy to Cypress Avenue in Redlands. Traffic was stopped temporarily at every westbound entrance from 22nd Street in Banning to east Redlands, including County Line Road in Calimesa, Oak Glen Road in Yucaipa and Ford Street in Redlands.
Thousands of motorists released from the on-ramp road blocks from the Pass to east Redlands followed the escorted limo convoy, which was guarded at the rear by CHP patrol cars with flashing lights.
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To read Patch Editor Renee Schiavone's detailed coverage from Rancho Mirage click the following link:
Sunnylands Summit Offered 'Unique' Opportunity for Chinese, U.S. Relations, Officials Say
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