Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge

Purpose & Overview Prior to completion of this project, the existing route of U.S. 93 used the top of Hoover Dam to cross the Colorado River. U.S. Highway 93 is the major commercial corridor between the states of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah; it is also on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) route between Mexico and Canada. U.S. 93 was identified as a high priority corridor in the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995. The traffic congestion caused by the inadequacy of the existing highway across the dam imposed a serious economic burden on the states of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.  The traffic volumes, combined with the sharp curves on U.S. 93 in the vicinity of Hoover Dam, created a potentially dangerous situation. A major catastrophe could occur, involving innocent bystanders, millions of dollars in property damage to the dam and its facilities, contamination of the waters of Lake Mead or the Colorado River, and interruption of the power and water supply for people in the Southwest. By developing an alternate crossing of the river near Hoover Dam, through-vehicle and truck traffic are removed from the top of the dam. This new route eliminates the problems with the former highway--sharp turns, narrow roadways, inadequate shoulders, poor sight distance, and low travel speeds.  The purpose of the project was to accomplish the following objectives: Minimize the potential for pedestrian-vehicle accidents on the dam crest and on the Nevada and Arizona approaches to the dam.  Remove a major bottleneck to interstate and international commerce and travel in the west by reducing traffic congestion and accidents in this segment of the major commercial route between Phoenix and Las Vegas.  Replace an inadequate highway river crossing with a new crossing that meets current roadway design criteria and improves through-vehicle and truck traffic capacity on U.S. 93 at the dam.  Reduce travel time in the dam vicinity.  Protect Hoover Dam employees, visitors, equipment, power generation capabilities and Colorado River waters, while enhancing the visitors’ experience at Hoover Dam by:  Safeguarding dam and power plant facilities and the waters of Lake Mead and the Colorado River from hazardous spills or explosions.  Protecting the dam and power plant facilities from interruptions in electricity and water delivery.  Providing improved conditions for operating and maintaining Hoover Dam facilities.

Welcome to the Hoover Dam Bypass Website Construction of the Colorado River Bridge is now complete!  The Colorado River Bridge is the central portion of the Hoover Dam Bypass Project. Construction on the nearly 2,000 foot long bridge (with a 1,060 foot twin-rib concrete arch) began in late January 2005 and traffic began using the Hoover Dam Bypass on October 19, 2010.  This signature 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. Visit the What's New andConstruction Activities pages for more details on how this project progressed through the years. Hoover Dam Bypass Now Open! The Federal Highway Administration, in conjunction with the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), officially opened the new segment of US 93, formally known as the Hoover Dam Bypass. Traffic began flowing on Tuesday night, October 19, 2010.  Background on the Hoover Dam Bypass Project United States Highway 93 (U.S. 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 at approximately milepost 2.2 in Clark County, Nevada and crossing the Colorado River approximately 1,500 feet downstream of the Hoover Dam, then terminating in Mohave County, Arizona near milepost 1.7 on U.S. 93. A Project Management Team (PMT) 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 sub-consultants make up the consultant team, collectively known as Hoover Support Team. Hoover Bypass Project Site:

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