Neither Here…nor There…
Anyone curious about how Homeland Security is taking care of your dams?
Here are the latest developments on the Hoover Dam Bypass-Colorado River Bridge project, slated for completion in 2008. The bypass will allow vehicles to cross the river without getting anywhere near the actual dam (right now, you drive across the top of the dam). It is very high–so high that I don’t expect you will even be able to see the dam once you’re up there, driving across the new bridge.
Last year, there were only large cranes and no actual pilings up yet. This year, there are many pilings up on the Nevada side…
and a few up on the Arizona side…
with a very large gap still to be…well…bridged…
And the dude who waved us through the security “stop”? He ducked back into his booth right as we coasted up to the stop sign and waved us on without looking up from his…er…Slurpee. No, I’m not kidding. It was a Slurpee.
And, just for good measure, here is the bathtub ring on the Colorado River this year–it’s the deepest ring (the lowest water level) I’ve ever seen there…
We went up to the bottom of the dam on the down river side last year and found that boat traffic can no longer go close to the dam, but must stop a short distance down river. I’m not sure how far from the dam we were, maybe a quarter of a mile when we had to turn around.
Comment by: sheoflittlebrain - 09.24.2007 - 3.29 pm
I can remember when you used to be able to tour the power generator there at the dam. There was a great spot where someone had, once upon a time, put a coffee can upside down on top of a pipe; the ambient electrical fields there made it spin wildly. Also, I popped my head into an office area, and found the niche publications that deal with electricity generation and dam management; there is a niche business publication for just about anything out there.
Lovely pics. Sigh. I’m homesick.
Comment by: OmegaMom - 09.24.2007 - 3.31 pm
Those pilings look like those big walking ships from Star Wars…
Comment by: Maia - 09.24.2007 - 4.34 pm
The Colorado looks just fine up here! I’m at the headwaters. What’s going on in between us? Nice pics, by the way. Its good to see the happy little bee post-op.
Comment by: christie - 09.25.2007 - 10.32 am
The Colorado was pretty low at Ruby Canyon, Christie-though I don’t know how that compares seasonally. There were a few places I couldn’t put my paddle deep enough to get any leverage. I was actually in a meeting last week with a NY attorney who has worked on a lot of the Colorado River issues in AZ, and he offered a lot of bad news anecdotes.
I just checked the flows and Ruby is high again:
http://www.eddyflower.com/CountryDetail.aspx?StateId=1
Water rights are so messed…
~lmc
Comment by: lisa - 09.25.2007 - 1.11 pm
Cool pics! That’s gonna be one awesome-looking bridge.
Comment by: Cavatica - 09.25.2007 - 4.32 pm
You got some great shots of that! I noticed when we passed by there this summer that it’s going to be one of those bridges that I have nightmares about… tall and narrow…
Comment by: atomic mama - 09.25.2007 - 10.31 pm
I’m with A Mama. Tall bridges give me the willies. Very cool pics, though!
Comment by: Project Ni Hao - 09.27.2007 - 11.12 am