Tuesday, October 22, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

HOOVER DAM BYPASS: Work on project begins

Improved roadway has been in planning for years

After decades of planning and years of study, federal and state officials from Nevada and Arizona gathered Monday to mark the start of construction on the Hoover Dam bypass bridge.

Preparations to relocate electrical transmission towers from the path of the bridge actually started last week on the project officials said will sit alongside Hoover Dam as an engineering marvel and landmark.

"You're going to see a spectacular project," Nevada Department of Transportation Director Tom Stephens said of the bridge, which will feature the country's longest concrete arch and stand less than a half-mile downstream from the dam. "While this is being built, it will be the best-known construction project in the United States."

The bridge will replace U.S. Highway 93's two-lane hairpin route through the volcanic rock of Black Canyon and over the top of the dam as the primary route between Nevada and Arizona.

The improved roadway will eliminate a growing bottleneck on an important route for tourism and trade, safeguard the dam from terrorism and improve the safety of dam visitors, officials said.

Protection of the dam and Lake Mead, the primary drinking water source for Southern Nevada, has always been one of the project's chief purposes. But officials said the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, proved the need is urgent.

"We know it (the dam) has been viewed and studied by terrorists," said Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev. "Removing traffic from the dam will help take care of that threat."

Officials acknowledge the bridge itself could eventually become a target for terrorists. Precautions have been taken in the design and construction of the bridge to reduce its vulnerability, though officials were reluctant to discuss details.

Officials touted the economic benefits of the bridge in providing a better route between two of the Southwest's largest and fastest-growing cities.

The ban on big rigs crossing the dam, in place since Sept. 11, 2001, has cost the trucking industry and consumers about $30 million a year, according to some estimates.

The bridge will render the truck ban irrelevant and pave the way for U.S. Highway 93 to become a part of the CANAMEX trade corridor, which stretches from Mexico City to Alberta. The trade route was established under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

"It (the bridge) is so significant because it allows ... the economic advantages of CANAMEX," said Gov. Kenny Guinn. "It will allow us to have a thriving place to live."

The bridge will also save lives and eliminate growing traffic jams, officials said. The accident rate for U.S. Highway 93 at the dam is three times that for similar roads on either side of the dam.

After crews finish removing six electrical transmission towers from the path of the bridge and its approach roads, work on the Arizona approach route will begin in January.

Work on the longer and more challenging Nevada approach will begin in late 2003.

The final and most challenging phase of construction will be the 1,900-foot canyon bridge. The bridge, which will combine a concrete arch and steel superstructure, will anchor to the sheer sides of Black Canyon.

The project, which is scheduled to be completed by 2007, also faces other challenges.

Officials acknowledged Monday that between $105 million and $108 million is still needed to complete the project.

Nevada and Arizona have each contributed $20 million toward the project's $234 million price tag. The remainder likely will be sought from the upcoming federal transportation funding bill.

Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, who could be a key ally in the fight to obtain federal funding for the bridge, attended Monday's ceremony.

The chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure told the crowd the bridge is the key to protecting Hoover Dam and bolstering trade in North America.

"This is a national issue," he said. "This is a project that helps everybody in this nation."