Hoover Dam bypass project clears key federal hurdle

Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2001 | 10:40 a.m.

The Hoover Dam Bypass, a federally funded effort to build a road around the historic dam 40 miles south of Las Vegas, has moved a step closer to construction.

The Federal Highway Administration has released a "Final Environmental Impact Statement," the last major regulatory hurdle before the government gives itself a final go-ahead to build a new U.S. 93 route around the dam.

Environmental activists from the local arm of the Sierra Club promised to fight the project in court if that "record of decision" is issued.

The record of decision could come anytime after Feb. 20, when the final comment period for the environmental impact statement expires. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in mid-2002, with completion scheduled for five years later.

Federal and regional authorities have for years said some way to reduce congestion over the historic dam is needed. The two-lane choke point over the dam can back up traffic for miles, and authorities worry that a serious accident could endanger both the dam and Lake Mead, the principal source of drinking water for millions.

The Federal Highway Administration, as expected, strongly supported a plan to build the new highway over the Colorado River just a quarter-mile south of the dam. The "preferred alternative" would shear off the top of Sugarloaf Mountain for a 2,000-foot bridge across the river.

Fred Dexter, chairman of the Sierra Club's Hoover Dam Bypass Project, on Tuesday said he wasn't surprised by the environmental impact ruling.

The group supports an alternative that would expand the highway around Bullhead City, Ariz., and Laughlin to Las Vegas. Both Bullhead City and Laughlin city governments support that option.

But both the highway administration and professional trucking organizations strongly oppose the Laughlin alternative. Dave Zanetell, the agency's project manager for Hoover Dam project, said the extra 23 miles and steep grades of that option would cost taxpayers $1.4 billion over 20 years.

He said public comments from the Sierra Club and others supporting the Laughlin alternative prompted his agency to "go back and do an extremely detailed analysis of the Laughlin proposal."

Dexter charged that the federal government illegally deleted widening and bypass plans in Boulder City and on the Arizona side of the state line from the Hoover Dam project's costs. Including those plans would significantly expand the environmental and financial impact of the project, he said.

"They had one large project and broke it into three pieces to put it on the fast track," Dexter said. "It falsely minimizes a lot of the detrimental aspects of the project."

Zanetell said a proposed bypass around Boulder City and widening of U.S. 93 widening on the Arizona side have to be considered as separate projects.