The New Hoover Dam Bypass - Incredible Photos

[LotoSteve]

Wow

THE WIDER VIEW: Taking shape, the new bridge at the Hoover Dam

Creeping closer inch by inch, 900 feet above the mighty Colorado River, the two side of a
$160 million bridge at the Hoover Dam slowly takes shape.

The bridge will carry a new section of US Route 93 past the bottleneck of the old road which can
be twisting and winding around and across the dam itself.

When complete, it will provide a new link between the states of Nevadaand Arizona.
In an incredible feat of engineering, the road will be supported on the two massive concrete
arches which jut out of the rock face.

The arches are made up of 53 individual sections each 24 feet long which have been
cast on-site and are being lifted into place using an improvised high-wire crane strung between temporary steel pylons.

The arches will eventually measure more than 1,000 feet across. At the moment, the structure looks
like a traditional suspension bridge. But once the arches are complete, the suspending cables on each side
will be removed. Extra vertical columns will then be installed on the arches to carry the road.
The bridge has become known as the Hoover Dam bypass, although it is officially called the
Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, after a former governor of Nevada and an American Football
player from Arizona who joined the US Army and was killed in Afghanistan. Work on the bridge started in 2005
and should finish next year. An estimated 17,000 cars and trucks will cross it every day.

The dam was started in 1931 and used enough concrete to build a road from New York to San Francisco.
The stretch of water it created, Lake Mead, is 110 miles long and took six years to fill.
The original road was opened at the same time as the famous dam in 1936.

An extra note: The top of the white band of rock in Lake Mead is the old waterline prior to the drought
and development in the Las Vegas area. It is over 100 feet above the current water level.

 

[cigdaze]

Wow! That's incredible; definitely a marvel of modern engineering as well as a work of art.

 

[Andrew]

Wow! That's incredible; definitely a marvel of modern engineering as well as a work of art.

:iagree:

 

[Knot 4 Me]

Wow! Also wow on how low the lake continues to be. My wife is taking the dam tour in February when she is out in Vegas. We've seen the dam from the water back in 2003 or so in a boat we rented.

 

[jeff1000man]

cool

 

[fund razor]

Amazing. Thanks for the pics.
I crossed the dam on my way to Havasu from Vegas for the first time in 1982.
It's an awesome thing. Amazing to see the changes. Not so cool to see Lake Meade so low.

 

[DollaBill]

When Cash Bar and I were out there for Desert Storm we got caught in a funny situation. We were walking across the dam and a truck broke down in the middle of the road totally blocking traffic. So us idiots look at each other and start pushing it across the dam so people can pass. Wigginout was with us but totally missed the shot with his camera. It was funny though. People were honking ect. Never a dull moment LOL.

That whole structure is amazing. Truly an engineering masterpiece

 

[LotoSteve]

Amazing. Thanks for the pics.
I crossed the dam on my way to Havasu from Vegas for the first time in 1982.
It's an awesome thing. Amazing to see the changes. Not so cool to see Lake Meade so low.

We boated up to the dam (as close as you can get) in a 28 Apache I used to own several years ago. It was really cool to be that close.

 

[Mark]

WOW! Very cool. Thanks for sharing!

 

[drpete3]

This looks like an april fools joke

 

[cigdaze]

http://www.hooverdambypass.org/

 

[imco offshore]

we had a race in lake nead about 3 years ago and they were just starting it,,on the way home at 6 in the am there were about 40 or 50 cement trucks in a row going to the pilings it was awsome,,

 

[Chris]

It's a shame they ruined that classic view.

 

[Wobble]

Backing up the truck to service those port-a-cans aint goin to be easy:cheers2:

 

[JupiterSunsation]

Hoover Dam was one of the few govt. projects finished ahead of schedule and UNDER BUDGET!

 

[cuda]

The Sunshine Skyway in St Pete is a concrete segmental bridge. Is that the same? Nick, I know you've been under it.

I went over the Hoover Dam when I drove across country in 1976 with my buddy Randy.

 

[MarylandMark]

It's a shame they ruined that classic view.

Was my 1st thought as well

 

[03darkshadow]

Was my 1st thought as well

yep, why didnt they make it about 3/4 mile away or something. either way it looks amazing.

 

[jet]

thanks for the dam pics.....get it dam pics (I crack me up)lol

 

[MacGyver]

It's a shame they ruined that classic view.

Even though they forever changed the view, spectators going across the new bridge will have a spectacular view of the dam and powerhouse below.