New Bypass Bridge
US 93 (with US 60 to the southeast of Wickenburg) is the shortest route (currently estimated to take an average of five hours) between the fast-growing cities of Las Vegas and Phoenix, two of the largest cities in the Southwest (and is an officially designated portion of the CANAMEX Corridor). Upgrades of US 60 and US 93 to four-lane expressway status are scheduled between Las Vegas and Phoenix; as of the fall of 2009, most sections north of the Santa Maria River are already at four-lane expressway status (with some of the newest portions presumably built to Interstate standards) with construction ongoing. This routing is part of a proposed Interstate 11 which could potentially connect Interstate 10 west of Phoenix with Interstate 515 southeast of Las Vegas.
A segment of this new highway consists of a new route across the Colorado River called the Hoover Dam Bypass. The new crossing is the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, the first so-called concrete-steel composite arch bridge built in the United States. The bridge is 1,900 feet (579 m) with a 1,080-foot (329 m) main span. The roadway is 840 feet (256 m) above the river.
The bypass replaced the old section of U.S. 93 that approached and crossed directly over Hoover Dam, which was inadequate by modern standards, because there was one narrow lane in each direction, including several hairpin turns, many dangerous curves, and poor sight distances. Also, in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, truck traffic over the Hoover Dam had been diverted south to a river crossing near Laughlin, Nevada, in an effort to safeguard the dam from hazardous spills or explosions.
Read more about this topic: U.S. Route 93 In Arizona
Famous quotes containing the word bridge:
“I was at work that morning. Someone came riding like mad
Over the bridge and up the road—Farmer Rouf’s little lad.
Bareback he rode; he had no hat; he hardly stopped to say,
“Morgan’s men are coming, Frau, they’re galloping on this way.”
—Constance Fenimore Woolson (1840–1894)