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StumbleBicyclists set to be first to cross Hoover Dam bypass bridge
Tourists walk on the sidewalk along the Hoover Dam, with construction of the dam bypass bridge seen in the background Friday, Feb. 26, 2010.
Saturday, May 22, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.
Sun archives
- Officials reach milestone on Hoover Dam bypass (5-20-2010)
- Bridge is part journey and part destination (8-14-2010)
- Hoover Dam bypass bridge inches toward completion (8-1-2009)
Sun coverage
Beyond the Sun
The first vehicles to use the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge likely won’t be cars.
The Regional Transportation Commission has arranged access to the bridge for bicyclists participating in the commission’s annual Viva Bike Vegas event.
The bike event’s 110-mile course will go across the bridge, and possibly have a rest stop there for cyclists to take a break, get some water and maybe a few souvenir photos.
The bridge is scheduled to open in November, more than a month after the Oct. 9 bike event.
RTC General Manager Jacob Snow announced the opportunity to use the bridge during the RTC’s board meeting Thursday.
“We think this will make the attendance record-breaking,” Snow said.
Last year, about 900 people participated in the bike event, about 100 more than in 2008, the first year the RTC took over the annual bike tours.
Snow said he expects more than 1,000 people to sign up for this year’s event.
Susan Martinovich, the director of the Nevada Department of Transportation, helped arrange the access to the bridge after participating in the event last year, Snow said.
This year’s event will include 110-mile, 50-mile and 23-mile courses.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Nevada Cancer Institute and the Greater Las Vegas After-School All-Stars. The event helps encourage people to use alternative methods of transportation, the RTC says.
The cost to participate in the 110-mile or the 50-mile ride is $75 until Aug. 4, when it jumps to $85.
The 23-mile ride costs $65 until Aug. 4, and then $75 until the day before the race.
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be a scary ride if it is windy up there...
wonder what provision they have made for high sided vehicles? After all it can be windy there..
markp... exactly!
Not THIS bicyclist.
The question is, who will be the Infamous First to jump OFF the new bridge.
some guy named Larry after Harry gets reelected
Wow markp..the wind? Maybe you should call them and let them know...
Chunky says:
Sounds like a great reason for me to get up off my rear end, dust off the LiteSpeed and start riding again!
Good job RTC!
Thanks RTC for recognizing the cyclists. I'm not scared of the wind...
I'm sure the new bridge will have more than a few people BASE jump off of it. There appears to be a beach for landing a little ways down stream of the bridge.
RTC's Jacob Snow paid R&R's Randy Snow a million dollars for this good idea......a couple of Walkers aka Randy Walker's children will buy bikes to ride so Cam can get his R&R money's worth.....Sig will be there with his RV.
OSHA bridge test procedure 10043428-9901. Get a thousand bicyclist to be the first to drive across bridge. If it doesn't fail its safe to open. (just kidding)
I have been in awe of this project since it started. Does anyone realize what it took to build that arch? and meet in the middle dead n8ts? It takes a special breed to work the heights these guys did with the water flowing beneath them. This is a historical bridge that we got to see being built in our lifetime,and the contractor is a class act, so unlike the mumbled expensive mess in the north, namely the I-580 bridge, what an expensive joke that one is, and the contractors laughing all the way to the bank.
you want to talk about scary, in i believe 1987, the Golden Gate bridge celebrated its 50Th anniversary.. it was closed to cars, and opened to cyclists and those on foot.. it was early morning, and they anticipated no more than 8 to 10.000 would show up. over 80K were there. myself, girlfriend and our 3 year old on a big wheel were some of the first on,, we were walking from the S.F side, to the Marin side, we were close to 1/2 way, when we saw Marin coming... we turned to go back, and it took 2hrs to get to solid ground... look at photos, the arch of the bride flattened that day..
I will train for this ride, and i will be on the bypass bridge, cause.. this is gonna be right up there with the Golden Gate.. but expect everyone to be there... and if shaking and swaying freaks you out, i would stick to the solid land..
expect cyclists from all over the west....
gmag, so you are a fellow cyclist, finally, we agree on something.
I will be there. My Klein is ready to cross that bridge, we have made many crossing on the Dam and look forward to a new adventure.
I hope that the cyclists that plan to do this trip have seen or visited the dam so they could be aware of how HIGH this new bridge is. VERY HIGH! The SUN news photo is 3 months old, and a poor perspective.
All of the parameters that can cause dangerous traffic problems at such an altitude, are present, like:
- high winds (like yesterday) that can stop traffic at any given time - especially on bridges that sway in the wind (or during earthquakes).
- vibration problems may become a question, such as SPEED or TRAFFIC VOLUME and WEIGHT that may cause excess vibrations, and reduce the flow of traffic.
- rain and/or dust will slow traffic down - and possibily cause dangerous road conditions
- and the (reportedly) 6 minute trip on the new bridge, that is said to formerly have taken 17 minutes to cross Hoover/Boulder Dam bridge - may wind up causing a bottle-neck at both ends of the bridge, because the connecting highways cannot absorbe faster vehicle flows than the relief-valve (lanes of highway available) can accept.
Just pointing out a few things to take note of. All that gitters is not gold.
Other than that, have a nice bike ride.
This is nothing new, they always have an opening of a new roadway and let bicyclist and pedestrians have the first run on it. If you don't know this you aren't from here, and if you complain you need to go back to where you came from.
Screw the bicyclists; they don't the taxes to use the paved or gravel roads. When these lunatics start paying a few thousand or more a bike in taxes, they can roads paid for by the people who pay for their use.
When you're traveling on the roadway and I don't move or give you right-of-way, I won't for a reason; you have no right being in my lane of travel until you pay your share to use roadways paid for taxes that your bike isn't paying.
some people are idiots,, bicycle tax....lol .. Same ones that take extra at the buffet to use at home....
More like some guy named Harry after he gets dumped in November.... lol ..