LAKE MEAD, AZ – Our photo for this week includes Lake Mead, Hoover Dam and the new Hoover Dam Bypass construction project. They are all amazing engineering feats and unique tourist attractions.

Beautiful Lake Mead was formed in 1936 when the Hoover Dam, originally called Boulder Dam, was built transforming the Colorado River into the largest reservoir in the United States. Today, Lake Mead, with 700 miles of shoreline, is a popular spot for boating, swimming, fishing and soaking up the sunshine. The top of the white band of rock in Lake Mead is the old waterline prior to the drought and development in the Las Vegas area. It is over 100 feet above the current water level.

The construction shown in the upper left corner is the new Hoover Dam Bypass, which includes the Colorado River Bridge. The bridge will be nearly 2,000 feet long and span the Black Canyon nearly 900 feet above the Colorado River, connecting Arizona and Nevada. This bridge will replace the present route of U.S. 93 that uses the top of Hoover Dam to cross the Colorado River. By developing an alternate crossing of the river near Hoover Dam, through-vehicle and truck traffic will be removed from the top of the dam.

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