Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Bridge (Hoover Dam Bypass)
27953, 28689 Great Basin Highway, Boulder City, Nevada
This striking feat of engineering connects Arizona and Nevada over the Colorado River. Perched about 900 feet (275 meters) above the canyon floor, the concrete-and-steel arched bridge is the second tallest in the US and offers scenic views of the Hoover Dam from above.
Opened in 2010 to reroute traffic that had previously passed over Hoover Dam, this soaring bridge sits on top of an immense concrete arch—one of the widest in the world. Hoover Dam tours from Las Vegas often stop at the bridge to allow visitors to stroll along the pedestrian walkway and take in views of the Hoover Dam and Colorado River before continuing to the Hoover Dam Visitor Center, powerplant, and observation deck.
The bridge offers one of the most dramatic vantage points for snapping photos of the Hoover Dam.
Engineering enthusiasts will especially enjoy insights into the construction of both the bridge and dam during a guided tour.
The dam is only visible from the raised pedestrian walkway, not from the street level below.
The pedestrian walkway is 1.3 miles (2.1 km) round-trip; comfortable shoes are a must. Don’t forget your hat and sunscreen as there's no shade on the bridge.
There is a wheelchair-accessible ramp to the bridge’s pedestrian walkway.
The bridge is located along Interstate 11 and U.S. Route 93 inside the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Las Vegas. Most visitors drive or join a bus tour from Las Vegas to admire the bridge and visit the Hoover Dam below.
The Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Bridge (Hoover Dam Bypass) is open daily all year. The best light for photographing the Hoover Dam and Colorado River is in the early morning or late afternoon, which also offers lower temperatures and fewer crowds than the peak midday hours. There’s no shelter on the bridge, so choose to visit on a clear day.
When the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Bridge (Hoover Dam Bypass) was inaugurated in 2010, it set a number of records. The first concrete-and-steel composite arch bridge built in the United States, it rests on the widest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere and is the highest concrete arch bridge in the world. It is the second-highest bridge in the US after Colorado’s Royal Gorge Bridge, and made its Hollywood debut in the 2015 film San Andreas.
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