Hoover Dam Bypass bridge arches nearly finished

Leila Navidi

Tourists take in the view of the Hoover Dam bypass bridge from the Hoover Dam observation deck.

Friday, July 31, 2009 | 4:07 p.m.

Hoover Dam bypass bridge

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The Federal Highway Administration held a media briefing this morning to show off the almost-completed arches of the Hoover Dam Bypass bridge.

About six feet are all that separates the two sides of the twin arches that will support the roadway being built to keep traffic off the dam.

When completed, the arch will be the largest concrete arch in North America, spanning 1,060 feet over the Colorado River.

There remains a good deal of work to be done on the arches as well as the bypass in general, said Project Manager Dave Zanetell of the Federal Highway Administration.

The arch should be done in the next two or three weeks, but construction workers will take another six weeks to finish the supports and remove the temporary cable system that has held everything in place during construction.

Once that is complete, it will take another 11 months to finish the bridge and then another month or two of work will be required to finish the roadway and open it to the public, an event scheduled for the fall of next year.

The Las Vegas Sun will have more about the bypass online Saturday morning, including photos and video from the construction site.

Discussion: 11 comments so far…

By goingbust

7/31/09 at 4:22 p.m.

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Nearly finished?
By 70aarcuda

7/31/09 at 4:27 p.m.

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yes..nearly finished...after all it is a govt project...
By getalife

7/31/09 at 4:52 p.m.

Suggest removal

Yes, but it looks really cool.
By El_Lobo

7/31/09 at 6:18 p.m.

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Great news....Maybe we can still build a better "mouse trap" or two in this country. The completion of the bridge will further personify the whole Boulder Canyon/Hoover Dam project.....

Should make each and everyone of us proud to be an American.....
By Katie

7/31/09 at 6:53 p.m.

Suggest removal

I'm not so sure I would ever drive on this thing....
By skerlahdee

7/31/09 at 7:40 p.m.

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no worries, they've been building bridges like this for a hunderd years
By skerlahdee

7/31/09 at 7:49 p.m.

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correction: two hundred years

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of...
By reg373

8/1/09 at 10:58 a.m.

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Government spending created many jobs in the Great Depression, Hoover Dam for example. Some paint that as socialism, others as a wise public investment -- found a cool site; Balkingpoints ; incredible satellite view of earth
By kristikuca

8/2/09 at 2:18 a.m.

Suggest removal

It is my opinion that you haven't seen a good picture of this new bridge until you have seen this guy's picture.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/las-vegas...
By mred

8/2/09 at 12:02 p.m.

Suggest removal

How is this bridge going to be protected from terrorists? Guess they will have to have check points and ban all RVs and trucks.
By JD_in_Montreal

8/6/09 at 8:23 a.m.

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mred: The idea was to protect the Hoover Dam from terrorism, not you! Ahahahaha! Don't forget: this was an initiative brought to you by the good government of Bush-Cheney...

Jean Desjardins, Montreal, Canada ;)