Dam Bypass Construction Site

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www.hooverdambypass.org/
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The Hoover Dam Bypass Project reached another major milestone in October 2004 with the award of the contract for the final connection – the Colorado River Bridge. The Colorado River Bridge is the central portion of the Hoover Dam Bypass Project. Construction on the nearly 2,000 foot long bridge began in late January 2005 and the completion of the entire Hoover Dam Bypass Project is expected in June 2008. When completed, this signature bridge will span the Black Canyon (about 1,600 feet south of the Hoover Dam), connecting the Arizona and Nevada Approach highways nearly 900-feet above the Colorado River.

U.S. Route 93 (US 93) has been designated a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) route. The increasing congestion caused by the switchbacks leading to the Hoover Dam site and the restrictions at the dam crossing have led to the development of the Hoover Bypass Project. The Hoover Dam Bypass Project is a 3.5-mile corridor beginning near milepost 2.2 in Clark County NV and crossing the Colorado River about 500 yards downstream from the Dam, terminating in Mohave County AZ at milepost 1.7 on US 93.

A Project Management Team was developed to oversee the design and construction of the project. The PMT has representation from each of the major project stakeholders including the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the States of Arizona and Nevada, the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) and the National Park Service (NPS). Central Federal Lands Highway Division (CFLHD) will act in the lead management role for all elements of project procurement, design and construction.
CFLHD awarded a contract to HDR Engineering, Inc. to provide design and construction support services for the Hoover Bypass Project. An integrated team of professionals from HDR Engineering, T.Y. Lin International, Sverdrup Civil, Inc. and several supporting subconsultants make up the consultant team, collectively known as Hoover Support Team.

The construction contract was awarded to the joint venture partnership of Obayashi Corp and PSM Construction in October 2004 for $114M. Construction began in early 2005 and was supposed to be completed in 2008. When completed, the 2,000 foot-long Colorado River Bridge will span Black Canyon nearly 900-feet above the Colorado River.

One year into the project, the joint venture contractor had completed some $35M worth of construction. Major milestone work nearing completion to date is the substructure excavation for the abutments, approach columns, and arch skewback footings, followed by erection of the temporary cableway crane system. In the precast yard, work crews o construct the precast segments of the bridge columns.

Upcoming work includes concrete placement for the approach column foundations followed by erection of the approach columns. It was anticipated that in 2006 construction would begin on the cast-in-place arch over the river.

Another milestone in the construction was reached with the completion of Phase II, the Nevada Approach. Kraemer & Sons, Inc. completed this roadway to the new bridge crossing two months ahead of schedule.

Construction of the Nevada approach began in October 2003 and the contractor built 2.11 miles of new four-lane highway alignment including six new bridges, a new traffic interchange at U.S. 93 near the Hacienda Casino, retaining walls, wildlife crossings, and a 1.6 mile extension of the River Mountain River Loop hiking trail. To accomplish this amazing feat, the contractor moved 1.5 million cubic yards of blasted rock material, placed 2.8 million pounds of reinforcing steel, and poured over 12,000 cubic yards of structural concrete.

Next would be the Phase IV project, which was scheduled for early 2008. This phase would include asphalt paving the entire four mile alignment from Nevada to Arizona, including constructing barrier railing, signage, lighting, striping, and all kinds of stuff like that.

Phase One is now finished. Completion of the Sugarloaf Mountain Bridge was the end of construction on the Arizona Approach. The project involved building a connection between US 93 and the bridge. Major components of the $21.5 million project include nearly two miles of four-lane roadway, a 900-foot bridge on the east side of Sugarloaf Mountain, a new traffic interchange at US 93 and Kingman Wash Road, wildlife crossings, trail access parking, improved drainage and rock staining. The joint venture contractor, Monks Construction and Vastco Inc, were responsible for construction activities on the Arizona Approach.

The bridge portion of the Hoover Dam Bypass project has been officially named by the United States Congress as the “Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge”. The name honors two prominent local citizens who dedicated themselves to public service and the greater good.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZghkLrGdLDk