/ Source: The Associated Press
The Hoover Dam bypass bridge is now open to traffic after years of planning and more than five years of construction.
The Arizona Department of Transportation says the $240 million bridge along U.S. 93 officially opened Tuesday night.
Transportation officials say the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge is intended to create a high-speed bypass of Hoover Dam for Arizona travelers heading to and from Las Vegas.
ADOT says the span also creates a safer and more efficient route for all travelers and commercial truck traffic, while maintaining critical economic ties between Arizona and Nevada and the southwest region.