Colorado River Bridge Project Nearing Completion

The joint venture contractor building the River Bridge, Obayashi Corporation and PSM Construction USA, Inc., has completed the connection of the 1,060 foot twin-rib concrete arch. Completion of the arch represents an enormous engineering achievement. Spandrel columns on the arch were completed in December 2009. These columns will now support the superstructure of the bridge. Remaining work includes placement of the steel tub girders sequential construction of the cast in place concrete deck, pedestrian and barrier rails, final finishing and site decommissioning. The final sections of the arch were connected on August 10, 2009. Removal of the supporting cable system was completed on August 27th, and the arch now self supporting and free standing. Upcoming work will include setting the precast columns, erecting the steel girders, and casting of the roadway deck and barriers. (Please see the July/August Project Status Update, in the above box, for more detail on this process.) The bridge remains on schedule for completion by September 2010. Opening of the bypass is on track for November 2010.

Interim Paving Contract Complete

The fourth phase of the Hoover Dam Bypass project is complete. The interim surfacing project was awarded to Las Vegas Paving Corporation in December 2007 was completed in June 2008. The project included asphalt paving and guardrail on approximately 75% of the approach project length. Completion of the project minimizes the amount of remaining work to be done after the River Bridge is completed. The final project to open the bypass will include the short sections of remaining roadway tie-ins to the River Bridge and U.S. 93, as well as signing, striping, barrier, and pedestrian facilities on the entire bypass.

Final Contract Awarded

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has awarded a $7 million contract to Frehner Construction Company, Inc. of North Las Vegas, Nevada to complete the final roadway elements that will allow traffic onto the Hoover Dam Bypass. This work will complete signing, striping, median barrier, lighting, paving, and roadway tie-ins at U.S. 93. Additional work will include the paving and parking area improvements for the visitor and pedestrian plaza.

Web Cam & Continuing Construction Activities

Construction of the Mike OCallaghan Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge (Colorado River Bridge) is now complete! We are still updating the Construction Photo Album page with a few of our favorites that
we took on-site as construction on the Bridge and the Pedestrian Plaza neared completion. Please be sure to check them out. October 2010 photos of the Mike OCallaghan Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge (Colorado River Bridge) are now posted! Final photos of the Interim Surfacing project on both the Arizona and Nevada Approaches are also available on that page.

The web cameras servicing the Hoover Dam Bypass Colorado River Bridge project were permanently removed between August 2 and August 9, 2010 as the project neared completion. We appreciate the interest that has been generated as a result of the cameras and apologize for any inconvenience.

Construction of the Nevada Approach Project is now complete! Check out photos of the completed alignment on the Construction Photo Album page. Older photos, including those from the completed Arizona Approach Project, can also be found through links on that page. Don't forget -- you can always find more information on our project by checking the FAQ page or reading the latest newsletter on-line, via the Informational Material page. Issue #19 - August 2010 - is now posted!

Construction Activities Construction is complete! The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded a $7 million contract to Frehner Construction Company, Inc. of North Las Vegas, Nevada to complete the final roadway elements that will allow traffic onto the Hoover Dam Bypass. This was the final contract. Work included completion of signing, striping, median barrier, lighting, paving, and roadway tie-ins at U.S. 93. Additional work included the paving and parking area improvements for the visitor and pedestrian plaza. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded a $7 million roadway surfacing project to Las Vegas Paving Corporation of Las Vegas Nevada in December 2007. The paving project included over 60,000 tons aggregate base, 45,000 tons hot asphalt concrete pavement and nearly 18,000 lineal feet of guardrail. The project is now complete. This project was accelerated in order to finalize paving and guardrail throughout a majority of the Bypass Approach roadways and take advantage of current construction materials prices and minimize any future increases that may result from delays associated with the contractors crane collapse that occurred during construction of the Mike OCallaghan Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge (Colorado River Bridge). Advancing this roadway surfacing project ensured continued progress on the Bypass and minimized the remaining work to be done after the Colorado River Bridge was completed with the ultimate goal of expediting the final opening of the Bypass. As the Mike OCallaghan Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge (Colorado River Bridge) neared completion, a final contract was awarded to pave the short sections of remaining roadway and the roadway tie-ins at U.S. 93, as well as complete final signing, striping, barrier, and pedestrian facilities. This final contract cost approximately $8 million and will was advertised in late 2009. The total cost to complete the Hoover Dam Bypass remained unchanged at $240 million and is consistent with the original 2001 estimate.

The construction contract for the Mike OCallaghan Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge (Colorado River Bridge), was awarded to the joint venture partnership of Obayashi Corporation and PSM Construction USA, Inc., in October of 2004 for $114M. Construction began in early 2005 and is was completed in October 2010. The 2,000 foot-long Colorado River Bridge spans the Black Canyon (about 1,500 feet south of the Hoover Dam), connecting the Arizona and Nevada Approach highways nearly 900-feet above the Colorado River. The construction requirements and challenges were as difficult as any in the world. By November 2008, the joint venture contractor had completed over $78M worth of construction. Major milestone work completed included the abutments, approach columns, girders and deck, and arch skewback footings. A number of the arch segments were cast using a temporary form traveler system. The contractor established a new cableway system developed specifically for this project and site. The cable crane system spaned the canyon, delivering materials and equipment used in constructing the bridge. Other completed work included the precast segments for the bridge columns which support the roadway on the arch.

On August 10, 2009, the arch portion of the Colorado River Bridge was physically connected. Removal of the supporting cable system was completed on August 27th, and the arch is now self supporting and free standing. The bridge was approximately 85% complete at this point.

Continued work included setting the precast columns, erecting the steel girders, and casting the roadway deck and barriers. (Please see the July/August Project Status Update for more detail on this process. It can be found on our What's New page.) The bridge remained on schedule for completion.

In October 2010, Mike OCallaghan Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge (Colorado River Bridge) was completed and opened to traffic on October 19, 2010.

Phase Two of the Hoover Dam Bypass, the Nevada Approach project, was completed in November 2005. Edward Kraemer & Sons, Inc., the contractor for the Nevada Approach project, completed this $30.1 million roadway improvement from Nevada U.S. 93 to the new Colorado River Bridge crossing nearly two months ahead of schedule. Construction of the Nevada Approach, began in October 2003, and within its short 24-month duration, the contractor constructed 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 feat, the contractor moved over 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.

Phase One of the Bypass was finished in December 2004. Completion of the Sugarloaf Mountain Bridge signified the end of construction on the Arizona Approach project. The project involved building a connection between U.S. 93 and the Colorado River 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 U.S. 93 and Kingman Wash Road, wildlife crossings, trail access parking, improved drainage and rock staining. The joint venture contractor, R. E. Monks Construction and Vastco Inc, were responsible for construction activities on the Arizona Approach. The project was completed on time.

Statement from the Federal Highway Administration - November 24, 2008 The Federal Highway Administration extends its deepest sympathy to the family of the construction worker who suffered a fatal accident on the Hoover Dam Bypass project site today. The FHWA will work closely with U.S. Department of Labors Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Joint Venture contractor, Obayashi Corporation and PSM Construction USA, Inc., to determine the cause of the accident. The accident occurred during a routine operation to adjust a cable used to align the temporary concrete towers that support construction of the twin arches. In the interim, all related activities involving the area where the accident occurred are suspended until further notice. Update: As of Monday, December 1, 2008, all construction activities have resumed.

Concrete Arch Bridges The advent of modern concrete technology fostered a renaissance of arch bridge construction in the United States. Stone arch bridges constitute an important chapter in American bridge building, but by the second half of the nineteenth century the labor-intensive nature of masonry arch bridge construction contrasted unfavorably with the ease of metal truss erection. Reinforced concrete allowed the arch bridge to be constructed with much more ease than ever before and maintained the load-bearing capabilities of the form. Accompanying the return of the arch form were the traditional architectural decorative details that had been in abeyance during the heyday of the truss bridge. It is interesting that the

renaissance of the arch bridge and its decorative elements coincides with the reintroduction of the beaux arts aesthetics following the 1893 Columbian Exposition. Concrete arch bridges are classified into four groups based on the way the dead load of the structure is carried. The four groups are (1) filled spandrel, (2) closed spandrel, (3) open spandrel, and (4) through arches. The filled spandrel arch consists of a barrel arch which carries filling material and terminates in closed longitudinal walls that act as retaining walls for the fill. Both closed and open spandrel arch types carry the roadway loads to the arch ribs and contain no fill. The former type carries the deck loads by spandrel walls resting on the arch ribs, while the latter type carries the roadway loads to the arch ribs by spandrel columns. Through arches consist of ribs which extend above the roadway and carry the deck loads by vertical hangers (Plates 13 and 14).