A Project That Honors A Hero

A Project That Honors a Hero:

On a recent trip to Las Vegas, my wife and I discovered an amazing and inspirational monument - The Mike O'Callaghan / Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge. What started as a visit to a tourist site that provided incredible views of the Hoover Dam (Another American project marvel), ended up in a visit that touched us. For we did not really know Pat Tillman's story. Pat Tillman (1978- 2004) was one of the heroes that this bridge was dedicated to.

We often hear the term "Hero" applied somewhat generously to people that have not really sacrificed much or done anything particularly heroic. The definition of a hero is "A person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities." A hero is one that is willing to sacrifice their own life for what they believe will create a greater good; for what they believe is right.

Pat Tillman played football at Arizona State University and started his career as a professional football player for the Arizona Cardinals. Eight months after the September 11 attacks, he put his professional career on hold to serve our country. Giving up multi-million contracts, he joined the US Army Rangers. His brother Kevin, also a talented athlete, enlisted as well, giving up an offer to play professional baseball for the Cleveland Indians. Both brothers made real sacrifices.

Tillman served in Iraq in 2003 and entered Ranger School in September 2003. After graduating Ranger School in November 2003, Tillman was deployed to Afghanistan. On April 22, 2004, his life was tragically ended when he was killed in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan. Who knows how high he would have soared and what he would have achieved if this had not happened. His Brother Kevin served from 2002- 2005 and now lives in California.

In Honor of Pat Tillman , The Pat Tillman Foundation was established in 2008. The program supports active-duty service members, veterans and their spouses with academic scholarships, a national network, and professional development opportunities, so they are empowered to make an impact at home and around the world.

On the foundations website there is a quote from Pat: "Somewhere Inside Us We Hear a Voice. It Leads Us In The Direction Of Who We Wish To Become. But It Is Up To Us Whether Or Not To Follow"

September 11 also impacted travel from Nevada to Arizona. Security measures implemented after the September 11 attacks, prohibited commercial truck traffic from driving across the Hoover Dam. To solve the problem of a 104-mile detour route, the bridge was designed. The Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge completed in 2010, spans the Colorado River between Arizona and Nevada. It is truly an engineering and project management marvel.

The bridge is the first concrete-steel composite arch bridge built in the United States and incorporates the widest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere. At 900 feet above the Colorado River, it is the world's highest concrete arch bridge and the second highest bridge in the United States. It is suspended by a 1,060 foot, twin-rib concrete arch, the largest of its kind in North America, that spans 1,900 feet.

It took five years to complete and was built using three and one quarter million cubic yards of concrete. That's enough concrete to pave a 16 foot wide road from New York to San Francisco { Desert Sun}. Construction required hoisting workers and up to 45 tons of materials 890 feet above the Colorado River using 2,300 ft long steel cables held up by a "high-line" crane system.

The bridge was completed within budget at a cost of $240 million. Compare this project to the The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge Repair Project (A portion of the bridge's eastern section's upper deck collapsed onto the lower deck due to the 1989 earthquake). Reconstruction started in 2002; the new eastern section opened September 2, 2013, at a reported cost of over $6.5 billion, a 2,500% cost overrun from the original estimate of $250 million. The Pat Tillman Bridge at a cost of $240 million was a bargain in comparison.

The first picture shows the bridge under construction - Note the steel cables.

Picture of the Completed Bridge:

Memorial Plaque on Bridge:

Pat Tillman: