Hoover Dam Bypass Update

[kdog]

In the the Best Shots of 2009 thread, Andrew asked me if I had any recent shots of the new bridge over the Hoover Dam. Well, it just so happened that I stopped there on Saturday on my way home from Yellowstone and so took a few shots. They were shot in late morning, and are nowhere near as dramatic as the night shots I posted previously. But, since he asked, I figured this was as good an excuse as any to post them.



Skateboarding anyone?


View from behind and over the dam


Those were shot during the day and so I didn't get "hassled by the man" this time.

Here's the original shot I posted that was taken on July 11. Honestly, the amount of progress made since then seems surprisingly modest. Although keep in mind this has been under construction for a number of years.



So that's my update.

Cheers,
-joel

[anwmn1]

Hmm..... I think its time for another boat trip.
But be sure to find a better parking spot next time.

[Wil Davis]

Thanks for the update, Joel - stunning pictures!

I still can't get over how the level of the lake has gone down (>100 ft) in the past 22 years!

Thanks for sharing!

- Wil

[kdog]

Originally Posted by anwmn1

Hmm..... I think its time for another boat trip.
But be sure to find a better parking spot next time.

You talking about this parking spot, Aaron?



Yeah, it's amazing how fast the water level in the river can change, eh?

[Photog4Christ]

Originally Posted by kdog

Skateboarding anyone?
l

I'm sure there is someone that would try that!

[CWSkopec]

Nice update, Joel. #2 is a seriously cool shot, love the perspective on it!

[WillCAD]

Nice shots Joel. I was there in April for my 40th birthday trip (my only time out west so far) and was fascinated by the bridge, but then I'm in the transportation industry so that kind of thing is somewhat familiar to me.

I'm curious about the circumstances of your stunning original night shot. Did you park somewhere, or just stop in the middle of the dam? Was it a tripod shot, or did you just brace on a car window or something? Did you get arrested?

I guess I can share some of my pics of the bridge from April (though mine are all crap compared to most pics I see on Dgin).

[Click the pics for sull-size versions]

[kdog]

Thanks, Neal and Chris.

Will, I love your shots. I should have taken more telephotos. The one of the tram is really neat.

Ok, the short story on the original. I was driving home from Vegas at dusk, and saw the welders, and my heart started palpitating picturing the shot. Up until that point, I'd never bothered to stop and photograph the dam before (sad, I know.) You cannot stop on the dam, as you know. So I drove up to the first parking area on the left (missing the closer one on the right), grabbed my camera and tripod, and went trotting down to the dam in the 105F heat. I get down to the dam, and there's a sign that says no pedestrians after dark. And it was pretty dark by that time. But... I entered the dam anyway. Took a few bracketed shots, before the Federal cops drove up and asked me very politely to leave.

[Jack'll do]

Howdy Joel

All of these shots are simply outstanding. The massiveness of the whole project is awesome. I am particularly blown away by #2 (and of course by the night shot).

[adbsgicom]

Joel, thanks for the update. Love that second shot looking down the dam and catching the bridge as well. That's a pretty amazing engineering project going there.

[Nikonic1]

That bridge is mind-boggling. Being a project manager in the construction industry, projects like this really put things in perspective. What an awesome feat of engineering and construction.



Nice images too!

[GSPeP]

Great pictures

I see they made some progress since I was there in October.

[kdog]

Thanks, guys. It's been a marvel to watch the progress on this bridge. Driving over the bridge at night has been like something from outerspace. Just surreal.

Once the bypass is done, it will be an entirely new experience for us Arizona folks to drive up to Vegas.

Cheers,
-joel

[WillCAD]

Originally Posted by kdog

Thanks, guys. It's been a marvel to watch the progress on this bridge. Driving over the bridge at night has been like something from outerspace. Just surreal.

Once the bypass is done, it will be an entirely new experience for us Arizona folks to drive up to Vegas.

Cheers,
-joel

It'll be a new experience to get from Vegas to Hoover Dam without a 30-90 minute backup!

[kdog]

Originally Posted by WillCAD

It'll be a new experience to get from Vegas to Hoover Dam without a 30-90 minute backup!

Yes, and on a holiday weekend we're talking even longer than that. Hours this will save. This bridge is going to put Kingman on the map.

[WillCAD]

Dude, Kingman is already on the map...

View Larger MapDriving Directions

[kdog]

Originally Posted by WillCAD

Dude, Kingman is already on the map...View Larger MapDriving Directions

My street isn't.

[dlplumer]

Wow, not sure how I missed this thread. What an amazing feat of engineering. Great shots Joel.

[WillCAD]

Originally Posted by kdog

My street isn't.

That's as good as having an unlisted phone number. And you don't even have to pay extra for it!