It wasn't the bridge itself I remember but the work cutting rock for the approaches, might have been early 2003, no later.
Posted on 10/15/2010 10:31:14 AM PDT by re_tail20
A soaring bridge that will let drivers bypass Hoover Dam — and steer clear of its security checkpoints and gawking tourists — is set to open after nearly eight years and $240 million worth of work.
The 1,900-foot engineering wonder perched 890 feet above the Colorado River is expected to drastically cut travel time along the main route between Las Vegas and Phoenix, as motorists will no longer have to make their way across the dam's winding two-lane road at a snail's pace.
"I know that the Hoover Dam is one of the wonders of the world," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said at a dedication ceremony Thursday. "I don't know who gives that designation, but I hope the bridge will become another wonder of the world."
LaHood and a delegation of government officials, including Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, heralded the span linking the Silver and Grand Canyon states as a crucial example of work being done nationwide to update the country's infrastructure. LaHood said the bypass is one of 15,000 transportation projects that include updating 4,000 miles of road.
"Daring projects do not solve today's problems — they support tomorrow's possibilities," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Wow, I’m trying to remember when I last visited Vegas and saw this under construction. 2002 maybe?
;'}
And Harry Reid will take credit for creating thousands of jobs.
This is our dam. This is our dam bridge. If you have any dam questions, please raise your hand.
I fart in dingy harry’s general direction.
I drove through that area last year. That bridge is quite an engineering marvel . . . almost more impressive than Hoover Dam itself!
It wasn't the bridge itself I remember but the work cutting rock for the approaches, might have been early 2003, no later.
I fart in dingy harry’s general direction.
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I blow my nose at him!
Who will be the first to bungy jump off it?
I wonder what it was like for the Chief Engineer when they started detaching those cables.
Probably no big deal. Math is one thing you can depend on in this world.
For those of you already getting queasy at the thought of driving over that monster: here yah go;)
Wow!
Yeah, where can I get some damn bait ?
This is one scary bridge. I would not wish to be driving across it in an earthquake!
Have we become so blase and only concerned with the costs of these projects, rather than the ingenuity of design, the logistics of building and hauling components to this remarkable site and to contemplate the courage of the workers who labored on this mind-numbing project?
Those are some gutsy men up there sharing oxygen with eagles.
That is one scary looking bridge (to drive), when you're afraid of heights.
My wife had trouble on the dam with her fear of heights. If we go that way again some day I’ll have to make sure she is taking a nap when we get there. (Hmmm - and wake her as I feign car trouble in the middle of the bridge...).
That seems quite the jump from either side. I guess it must be a lift bridge and the middle is out of the way so the dam can get through to block off more of the river.
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