Hoover Dam bypass speedup urged

Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2001 | 9:52 a.m.

SUN CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- Construction of a new crossing over the Colorado River to replace Hoover Dam should be accelerated, the director of the state Transportation Department said Monday.

Because of new security restrictions at the dam, hundreds of trucks are being rerouted through Laughlin, transportation director Tom Stephens said.

The proposed new crossing, about a mile down river from Hoover Dam, is scheduled to be completed in 2007. But Stephens told the state Transportation Board he would like to see it finished and dedicated on Sept. 30, 2005, which would be the 70th anniversary of the dedication of the dam by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Stephens said only local trucks with permits are allowed on the dam. The others are sent to Laughlin, which adds 23 miles to the trip. This is a "tremendous cost" to the trucking companies, he said.

There has been increased security at the dam in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

It would cost more to accelerate the construction schedule, but Stephens suggested it would be worth the effort. He said the dam could be shut down at any time because of security concerns.

Kent L. Cooper, program development manager for the transportation department, said there is $10 million in the budget to be added to the $10 million set aside last fiscal year toward planning and construction of the alternate route. Arizona, he said, has set aside a similar amount.

The states want the federal government to put up some $200 million to build the new crossing.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said that Dan Bogden, the new U.S. attorney for Nevada, has been asked by the federal government to establish an anti-terrorist task force in the state.

Del Papa, a member of the state Transportation Board, said the transportation department should offer its services to the new task force.