Hoover Dam By-Pass Bridge (Updated with videos)
A quarter-mile downstream from Hoover Dam, two fingers of concrete stretch toward each other from sheer cliffs, suspended nearly 900 feet above the Colorado River.
Any day, the fingers will meet, an 80-foot gap will close and the longest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere will be complete.
The union will mark a major milestone in the nine-year construction of the Hoover Dam bypass bridge, scheduled to open in late 2010.
But even incomplete, the overpass, officially known as the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, evokes a sense of wonder. Towering columns perch on naked rock. The arch is held by tendons of steel cable.
When the four-lane road is laid atop the arch, it will be the third-highest bridge deck in the country.
The bridge is intended to replace the road atop the Depression-era Hoover Dam as the main route between Phoenix and Las Vegas.
The project is designed to speed the trip along U.S. 93 and facilitate more trucking commerce among Canada, Mexico and the U.S.
The $114 million bridge project has been a challenge. Accidents delayed it by two years and claimed one life, as workers battled intense heat, dangerously high winds and perilous heights.
from: amberco@swbell.net
Hoover Dam bypass bridge inches toward completion
1,060-foot support arch nearly finished; bridge should be open for traffic by end of next year