THE BIG PROJECT

On October 10th I went to visit my old jobsite. The Colorado River Bridge being built just downstream of Hoover Dam. You can see all the details about the project at http://www.hooverdambypass.org/ A great website to see construction photos, live webcams of the project and how the arch is being constructed.

Here is the arch under construction, it is being cast in place with the form travelers seen in the pictures. As the arch is constructed segment by segment, a stay cable is attached from a supporting tower above. You can see the first stay cable attached to the arch in the picture.

Another view of the arch, looking straight down at the arch from the bridge deck above.

The schematic above shows how the arch will be constructed. Note that all the cables and their supports (towers above the deck) will be removed once the arch has been connected in the center. The arch from cliff to cliff is 1040 feet. The bridge deck is approximately 900 feet above the river below. Yes there will be a pedestrian walkway out to the center of the bridge.

A couple steel workers and an engineer. What a magnificent project in the shadows of the historical Hoover Dam. I really enjoyed the 2 years that I spent working on this bridge. It will be the 4th longest concrete arch bridge in the world when it is finished. It is because of the bigger picture that I decided to discontinue working on this big project. I don't regret that decision one bit! What an awesome project!!!