The horseshoe-shaped skywalk is part of the Hualapai Tribe's $40 million efforts to turn 1,000 acres of reservation land into tourist operations that someday could include a high-end resort, golf course and campgrounds.
The destination, known as Grand Canyon West, also will feature an Indian village and Western-themed town, which are scheduled to open Sept. 1.
Visitors to the skywalk will pay $25 for a bird's-eye view of the canyon.
The skywalk could help double the number of visitors to Grand Canyon West to 500,000 a year, said Sheri Yellowhawk, chief executive officer of the Grand Canyon Resort Corp., a tribal-owned company that oversees the project.
"You're basically looking 4,000 feet down. It's a whole new way to experience the Grand Canyon," Yellowhawk said. "We think that that's what's really going to make the destination bloom."
Yellowhawk said the skywalk will accommodate 120 people comfortably although it is designed to hold 72 million pounds.
The walkway has a glass bottom and sides and is supported by steel beams.
Las Vegas-based architect David Jin came up with the idea for the skywalk in 1996 during a trip to the Canyon.
He teamed up with Lochsa Engineering, also from Las Vegas, whose portfolio includes Mandalay Bay Hotel and Hard Rock Hotel.
Jin calls the skywalk "very safe" but said an insurance company has yet to sign on.
The Indian village will feature a self-guided tour through dwellings and tepees.
The Hualapai Tribe is also positioning itself to be able to handle more visitors by improving its airport.
It will use a $2 million grant from the federal government to build a solar energy project to reduce costs at the airport, which now runs on diesel generators.
But to make Grand Canyon West a major tourism site, Yellowhawk said the tribe will need to improve the roads and water and electricity infrastructure.
LOL,,an Insurance Company hasn't signed on to cover them yet? For some reason, that makes me laugh!