Construction of a bridge bypass project at Hoover Dam that will ease congestion and safety concerns at the dam was announced this week by officials from Nevada and Arizona.
The $231 million project, which is not yet fully funded, would create a 2,000-foot bridge over the Colorado River just south of the dam, according to the Associated Press.
It is expected to end traffic delays along U.S. Highway 93, the winding two-lane road that links Las Vegas and Phoenix. An estimated 13,000 cars and trucks cross Hoover Dam daily. Authorities tightened security around it immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and vehicles are still stopped at checkpoints on either side of the dam.
Since the attacks, tractor-trailers, full-sized buses and large campers traveling the main route between Las Vegas and Phoenix have been banned from the dam and must take a longer route through Laughlin, Nev. and Bullhead City, Ariz.
Officials said about 2,000 vehicles per day have made the 80-mile detour, costing the trucking industry about $30 million per year in fuel and other costs.
Preparations for bypass construction began last week. Crews could begin building the four-lane bridge as soon as next year, but the project likely will not be completed until 2007.
The steel and concrete arch will span the Colorado River about 1,500 feet downriver from Hoover Dam. About two miles of highway will be added on either side of the dam to reach the bridge. Construction of the Arizona highway approach is set to begin in January.
Hoover Dam forms Lake Mead, the nation's largest manmade reservoir. It also supplies electricity to a wide area of the Southwest. Completed in 1935, the dam is one of southern Nevada's most popular attractions.
The $231 million project, which is not yet fully funded, would create a 2,000-foot bridge over the Colorado River just south of the dam, according to the Associated Press.
It is expected to end traffic delays along U.S. Highway 93, the winding two-lane road that links Las Vegas and Phoenix. An estimated 13,000 cars and trucks cross Hoover Dam daily. Authorities tightened security around it immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and vehicles are still stopped at checkpoints on either side of the dam.
Since the attacks, tractor-trailers, full-sized buses and large campers traveling the main route between Las Vegas and Phoenix have been banned from the dam and must take a longer route through Laughlin, Nev. and Bullhead City, Ariz.
Officials said about 2,000 vehicles per day have made the 80-mile detour, costing the trucking industry about $30 million per year in fuel and other costs.
Preparations for bypass construction began last week. Crews could begin building the four-lane bridge as soon as next year, but the project likely will not be completed until 2007.
The steel and concrete arch will span the Colorado River about 1,500 feet downriver from Hoover Dam. About two miles of highway will be added on either side of the dam to reach the bridge. Construction of the Arizona highway approach is set to begin in January.
Hoover Dam forms Lake Mead, the nation's largest manmade reservoir. It also supplies electricity to a wide area of the Southwest. Completed in 1935, the dam is one of southern Nevada's most popular attractions.
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