Why U.S. 93 Stopped Crossing Hoover Dam After 74 Years

Why U.S. 93 Stopped Crossing Hoover Dam After 74 Years For 74 years, U.S. 93 crossed the Colorado River directly over the top of Hoover Dam. It was a two-lane highway, a major route between Arizona and Nevada, and one of the strangest places in America for through traffic to share space with a national landmark. As traffic grew, the crossing became a bottleneck. After September 11, 2001, commercial trucks were prohibited from using the dam and faced a detour of roughly 75 miles. This documentary follows how the old U.S. 93 crossing became increasingly difficult to maintain as a modern highway, why transportation agencies spent years planning a bypass, and how the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge finally moved through traffic away from Hoover Dam in 2010. REROUTED looks at the engineering, geography, security concerns, and route decisions behind one of the most dramatic highway realignments in the American Southwest. Sources consulted include Federal Highway Administration and Bureau of Reclamation records related to U.S. 93, Hoover Dam, and the Hoover Dam Bypass project. 00:00 The Highway on Top of Hoover Dam 00:52 Why U.S. 93 Crossed the Dam 01:42 When the Crossing Became a Bottleneck 02:42 Planning a Way Around Hoover Dam 03:38 The 75-Mile Truck Detour 04:27 Building the New U.S. 93 05:28 Black Canyon Fights Back 06:12 The Human Cost of the Bridge 06:55 Closing the Arch 07:42 U.S. 93 Leaves Hoover Dam 08:21 The Old Route Today 09:02 What Hoover Dam Lost After 74 Years