Photo Credit: Jessie Benaglio
Mike O’ Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge is built over the Colorado River near the Hoover Dam connecting Nevada and Arizona. It was meant to bypass driving over the Hoover Dam so there is not as much traffic for the pedestrians viewing the Dam. This bridge opened October 18, 2010. It is the first concrete-steel composite arch bridge built in the United States. It is the second highest bridge in the United States, 840 feet above the Colorado River, and also the widest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere.
The bridge was constructed with seven pairs of columns. The arches were constructed on both sides of the bridge simultaneously while being supported by diagonal cables. When the two halves of the arch was completed, there was only a 3/8 inch gap which was filled with reinforced concrete.