Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge History: Construction Methods, Stages, and Pedestrian Trail

The Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge (the Mike O’Callagham-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge) was dedicated on October 14, 2010. The arch bridge carries Interstate 11 and U.S. Route 93 over the Colorado River just downstream with spectacular views from the pedestrian walkway of Hoover Dam. The bridge was the first concrete-steel composite arch bridge built in the United States, and incorporates the widest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere. The Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge was nominated by the Nevada Section-ASCE for the 2012 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award (OCEA) and won the competition, with the OCEA plaque located at the end of the pedestrian walkway beside the highway. With educational panels of the composite concrete deck arch bridge construction methods and companies, a pedestrian walking trail was built from a parking area to a sidewalk and Hoover Dam-overlook along the bridge and highway. Several new oval information panels were added to the Bypass Bridge Parking Plaza, next to rectangular panels explaining the construction methods and stages. Materials utilized in the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge include 10,000 psi to 3,000 psi concrete, precast concrete columns, and many million pounds of structural steel.