MJGhajar's Fotothing

Two of the world's great engineering projects are now drawing attention in southern Nevada: Hoover Dam and the bypass bridge next to it.

People from around the country drive out to visit Hoover Dam and then end up using it as a platform to gaze at the bridge.

At a glance, it looks like a suspension bridge, in which the deck hangs from cables attached to columns. In this case, the cables are used for support in constructing the arch. Once the arch is complete, the cables and the columns come down.

After that, there's still a lot of work to do. The deck has to be built along the top and many miles of the approach need to be blasted out on the Arizona side.

The public should be able to start using the bridge by late 2010.