LAUGHLIN (KTNV) — A second bridge connecting Laughlin to Bullhead City is scheduled to open on Friday, June 7.
Construction on the $60.6 million project began in November 2021.
The 724-foot-long bridge sits 35 feet above the river with one lane of traffic in each direction along with a multi-use trail on the south side for bicyclists, runners, and pedestrians. According to the county, the bridge can be restriped to accommodate four lanes of traffic and the multi-use trail.
The bridge is located eight miles south of Laughlin's other bridge, which opened in 1987. There is a third, privately-maintained bridge, called Veterans Bridge, six miles south of the new structure that connects Fort Mohave, Arizona via Aztec Road with the land at the Avi Resort & Casino on the Nevada side.
As for the new structure, a 3.5-mile road was constructed on the Nevada side, which connects with Needles Highway, just north of the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation. On the Arizona side, Bullhead Parkway was extended by half a mile to the bridge and was completed in October 2020.
As part of the project, a 2.5-acre nature center pond was also featured on the Arizona side for waterfowl that can use it "as a refuge from the river's boats and personal watercraft."
"This second bridge spanning the Colorado River has been decades in the making," Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft said. "Its completion will facilitate the flow of traffic and commerce across the river, and I'm looking forward to celebrating this historic milestone with our residents."
Additional information will be released after plans are finalized in May.
