Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

The Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge is an <a href="/facts/Arch_bridge/oGQeFjp2">arch bridge</a> in the United States that spans the <a href="/facts/Colorado_River/yGEJtRAJ">Colorado River</a> between the <a href="/facts/U.S._state/PFwcRIYQ">states</a> of <a href="/facts/Arizona/6ayM3swJ">Arizona</a> and <a href="/facts/Nevada/HNWhCrQv">Nevada</a>. The bridge is located within the <a href="/facts/Lake_Mead_National_Recreation_Area/sjBS84tx">Lake Mead National Recreation Area</a> approximately 30 miles (48 km) southeast of <a href="/facts/Las_Vegas/DLwGjxJt">Las Vegas</a>, and carries <a href="/facts/Interstate_11/DDRSUwK8">Interstate 11</a> and <a href="/facts/U.S._Route_93/L681MVx7">U.S. Route 93</a> over the Colorado River. Opened in 2010, it was the key component of the Hoover Dam Bypass project, which rerouted US 93 from its previous routing along the top of <a href="/facts/Hoover_Dam/WIPXAeBe">Hoover Dam</a> and removed several <a href="/facts/Hairpin_turn/TIo1Cxdl">hairpin turns</a> and blind curves from the route. It is jointly named for <a href="/facts/Mike_O%2527Callaghan/ajWwdo70">Mike O'Callaghan</a>, <a href="/facts/Governor_of_Nevada/R5VMnD6k">Governor of Nevada</a> from 1971 to 1979, and <a href="/facts/Pat_Tillman/2JJ7pbIU">Pat Tillman</a>, an <a href="/facts/American_football/TGzJa1nW">American football</a> player who left his career with the <a href="/facts/Arizona_Cardinals/jztE3plf">Arizona Cardinals</a> to enlist in the <a href="/facts/United_States_Army/WACWBEK9">United States Army</a> and was <a href="/facts/Killed_in_action/REgutspw">killed</a> in <a href="/facts/Afghanistan/v63Auu1C">Afghanistan</a> by <a href="/facts/Friendly_fire/huKuPn8V">friendly fire</a> in 2004.
As early as the 1960s, officials identified the US 93 route over Hoover Dam to be dangerous and inadequate for projected traffic volumes. From 1998 to 2001, officials from Arizona, Nevada, and several federal government agencies collaborated to determine the best routing for an alternative river crossing. In March 2001, the <a href="/facts/Federal_Highway_Administration/NlxY1qzR">Federal Highway Administration</a> selected the route, which crosses the Colorado River approximately 1,500 feet (460 m) downstream of Hoover Dam. Construction of the bridge approaches began in 2003, and construction of the bridge itself began in February 2005. The bridge was completed in 2010 and the entire bypass route opened to vehicle traffic on October 19, 2010. The Hoover Dam Bypass project was completed within budget at a cost of $240 million; the bridge portion cost $114 million.
The bridge was the first concrete-steel composite <a href="/facts/Arch_bridge/oGQeFjp2">deck arch bridge</a> built in the United States, and incorporates the widest <a href="/facts/Arch_bridge/oGQeFjp2">concrete arch</a> in the Western Hemisphere. At 890 feet (270 m) above the Colorado River, it is the second <a href="/facts/List_of_bridges_in_the_United_States_by_height/I4nMXlvn">highest bridge in the United States</a> after the <a href="/facts/Royal_Gorge_Bridge/rL2lgl6N">Royal Gorge Bridge</a> near <a href="/facts/Ca%25C3%25B1on_City%2c_Colorado/TtBjUaN3">Cañon City, Colorado</a>.

Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge open-in-new

Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge