Hoover Dam Bypass: Workers About to Connect the Arch

Hoover Dam, July 28, 2009 (NAZ Today/Brandon Neuman)

Construction workers are nearing the completion of a concrete arch which will form the backbone of the new Hoover Dam Bypass.  The two sides of the arch have been steadily  growing from both the Arizona and Nevada side of  Black Canyon out toward one another.

Once the two sides of the arch connect in September the large supporting towers and cables will be removed and construction of the road deck surface will begin.  The road deck is expected to carry four lanes of traffic and a pedestrian walkway where visitors will be able to see spectacular views of the Hoover Dam.

Each day more than 14,000 cars and trucks cross the dam which can no longer safely support the high volume of traffic.  Currently buses, commercial trucks, and motor home vehicles are not permitted to travel across the dam and must take alternate routes through Laughlin, NV.  Once the bypass is completed all traffic will be re-routed from the surface of the dam over to the new four lane bridge, significantly  reducing the traffic congestion and long delays that currently exist on U.S. 93 .  The bridge will also serve as an important part of the North American Free Trade (NAFTA) program allowing goods and materials to move more easily into and out of California, Nevada, and Arizona.

When the bridge is scheduled to be completed in late 2010 it will be one of the largest concrete arch bridges in the world.  The cost of the bridge is estimated at approximately 240 million dollars.