How tall is hoover dam bridge

Lin International were the bridge design team. Four lattice towers, each approximately feet tall, were erected on either side of the Colorado River immediately south of the Hoover Dam. Distance between the opposing towers span was approximately 2, feet. The two cableways extended parallel and along the centerlines of the double highway lanes of the new bypass bridge. Route 93 crossed the Colorado River on the dam itself, via a crowded, white-knuckle two-lane road riddled with hairpin turns, high winds and zero visibility.

What was recognized as a bad set-up 45 years ago became untenable by the s, when the surging population growth and tourism caused hopeless congestion amid the ever-present road hazards. Construction began in and the officials cut the ribbon in October , coinciding with the 75th anniversary of Hoover Dam. Highway officials used radio collars and GPS to track the migratory patterns of sheep and other wildlife to identify optimal crossing points. Construction crews from Obayashi Corp.

Two foot towers suspended each end of the 2,foot cableway, and a custom remote-controlled trolley system traveled on the 3-in. The bridge was the first concrete-steel arch composite bridge built in the United States, and its twin-ribbed arch is the widest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. Forming a 1,foot-long, foot-deep arch, the two ribs are joined laterally by Vierendeel steel trusses that add seismic protection.

Each rib comprises more than 50 sections of concrete , each measuring 24 to 25 feet. The project had its biggest construction setback on September 15, when all four of the ton high line cable towers collapsed from high winds. The mishap delayed erection of the arch by nearly two years before a newly designed highline was built.

The pier sections and pylons for the bridge were all built off site and trucked in while the arch rib sections were cast in 24 foot 7 mtr increments and were suspended over the canyon with cable stays until the two sides of the arch could be closed at the crown. The best design trait of all might well have been the simple decision to include a walkway on the north side of the bridge.

From here the majesty of the Hoover Dam can finally be seen straight on from a vantage point normally reserved for planes or helicopters. Since the bridge crosses a state line, the construction was undertaken by the Arizona and Nevada Department of transportations along with several private contractors including T.

He was killed in Afghanistan from a friendly fire incident in April of at the age of The dozens of criss-crossing cable stay anchorage sockets temporarily held the weight of the two arch halves above the river gorge.

Kayakers float more than a thousand feet below. Temporary pylons rose feet 47 meters above the road deck to support the arch cable stays. Image by Brian Sisk. The new highline towers were completed in August of after the original towers collapsed in high winds on September 15th, In fact, even with this design, the dam would need to resist the water pressure more than 45, lb per square foot at the base of the dam.

By its completion in , the Hoover Dam was the greatest concrete project ever recorded, using more masonry than the Great Pyramid at Giza 4. To this day, it remains the highest dam in the Western Hemisphere. Towering ft above the Colorado River, it is 1, ft across at the top, ft thick at the base and 45 ft thick at the top and weighs in at whopping 6. To make the concrete durable, strong and increasing its overall performance, the engineers specified a new innovation in concrete admixtures: Pozzolith water-reducing admixtures, invented in by Master Builders, now a BASF brand.

Later, Watson Bowman Acme, a BASF company, provided Jeene expansion joint systems and slider plate assemblies, adding corrosion and structural protection, while accommodating thermal and seismic movements, vehicle impact and structural loads. The bridge would provide an improved, safer less windy , shorter route between Las Vegas and Phoenix and provide additional security for the Hoover Dam against attacks.

Today the four-lane bridge is the first concrete-steel composite arch bridge built in the U. At ft above the Colorado River, it is the second-highest bridge in the country and the longest arched concrete bridge in the Western Hemisphere.