Construction Activities

What's Happening On the Job?

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded a $7 million surfacing project to Las Vegas Paving Corporation of Las Vegas Nevada in December 2007. The paving project includes over 60,000 tons aggregate base, 45,000 tons hot asphalt concrete pavement and nearly 18,000 lineal feet of guardrail. The project is 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 contractor’s crane collapse that occurred during construction of the River Bridge. Advancing this roadway surfacing project ensured continued progress on the Bypass and minimized the remaining work to be done after the River Bridge is completed – with the ultimate goal of expediting the final opening of the Bypass.

Once the River Bridge nears completion, a final contract will be 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. It is estimated that this final contract will cost approximately $8 million and will be advertised in late 2009. The total cost to complete the Hoover Dam Bypass remains unchanged at $240 million and is consistent with the original 2001 estimate.
 

The construction contract for the 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 expected to be completed in 2010. When completed, the 2,000 foot-long Colorado River 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.  The construction requirements and challenges are as difficult as any in the world.

As of November 2008, the joint venture contractor has completed over $78M worth of construction. Major milestone work complete includes the abutments, approach columns, girders and deck, and arch skewback footings. A number of the arch segments have been cast using a temporary form traveler system. The contractor has established a new cableway system developed specifically for this project and site. The cable crane system spanning the canyon delivers materials and equipment used in constructing the bridge. Other completed work includes the precast segments for the bridge columns which will support the roadway on the arch.  The arch is now almost 40% complete, and on track for closure in the third quarter of 2009.

Upcoming work will include continued of the cast-in-place concrete arch over the Colorado River. Completion of the arch requires construction of temporary stay towers which will support the arch until it is closed in the middle. This is scheduled for September 2009. 
 

Another milestone in the construction of the Hoover Dam Bypass was completion of phase two, the Nevada Approach project 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 Labor’s 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.

Contact: Nancy Singer, FHWA Public Information Officer, at 202-366-4650

Come inside the Construction Zone!

Be sure to check out photos of all our projects in our Construction Photo Album.  Images are updated periodically. April 2009 photos showing the progress of the Colorado River Bridge, as well as of the Interim Paving Project (on both the Arizona and Nevada sides) are now posted!

Construction Schedule:

Web Cam:

Construction Web Cam - Our web cam is up and running! Through the use of our interactive web cam, you can view live-images of the Colorado River Bridge construction area, zoom in and out on specific locations, e-mail images to someone, and post your own images to a photo album. To be redirected to our webcam, all you have to do is click on the camera in the top left side of any page, or just click here: Hoover Dam Bypass Web Cam. (Please note, some internet browsers will need the pop-up blocker turned off in order to be redirected to the web cam.)