Dam It; Build a Bridge

Hoover Dam in September 2007. 

This past week marked another milestone in the Black Canyon. But a fissure in the arid Mojave Desert of southern Nevada and Arizona, Black Canyon is home to an engineering marvel that both instills patriotism and demonstrates American ingenuity: The Hoover Dam. On Saturday, October 16, a public event, Bridging America, was held to commemorate the completion of the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge.

Started in 2005, this bridge to somewhere is much like the dam it now traverses: It was born out of necessity. Hoover Dam was built to tame the mighty Colorado River, providing water and electricity that fueled growth in the American Southwest. Seventy-five years later, and the two-lane highway over the dam, US-93, has become subject to extensive bottlenecks in traffic. In a post-9/11 world, the Department of Homeland Security isn’t too keen on having vehicular traffic crossing the dam either. So a bypass bridge, complete with four-lane highway and baffles to prevent those dam rubberneckers was erected. Expect cars to start flowing over the bridge before we sing “Auld Lang Syne.”

I remember during my first Hoover Dam visit seeing the initial concrete beams that were to support the dam bypass bridge. It was in Sepetember 2007 as I and a motor coach full of tourists were en-route to Grand Canyon West from Vegas. Of course a dam pit stop was necessary, and our driver explained to us the significance of those massive concrete pylons. I remember staring in awe at the towering structures, amazed at the engineering prowess and knowledge required to build such a thing into the steep walls of Black Canyon, much less in 110º+ sweltering sunlight.

Fast forward nearly three years and I again stood at the top of Hoover Dam, staring at those same concrete pylons. Only now a graceful arch spanned the middle and a deck linked one end of the canyon to another; the Silver State joined the Copper State. If you’re curious, you can read about my visit to Hoover Dam this past July here.

Just as a visit to the dam fills you with a new sense of patriotism and an appreciation for the engineers, architects, and construction workers that made it happen, gazing at the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge is an awestruck moment. At a time when projects often get cancelled before ever really getting started—whether it’s due to environmental studies, lack of funding, or political squabbling—it’s refreshing to know that somewhere in the country infrastructure projects are still successful. It’s important to celebrate American ingenuity, building might, and infrastructure betterment.  These are the things that have made this nation great.  I could say more regarding the stories behind the bridge's namesakes, especially Pat Tillman, but that's another blog entry.  Meanwhile, enjoy some photos I took in July:   



Long queues of (overheating!?!) cars wait every day to cross US-93 at Hoover Dam



The graceful arch of the O'Callaghan-Tillman Memorial Bridge