Hoover Dam ( It's Called Engineering)

THE WIDER VIEW: Taking shape, the new bridge at the Hoover Dam

Creeping closer inch by inch, 900 feet above the mighty Colorado River, the two sides of a $160 million bridge at the Hoover Dam slowly take shape.

The bridge will carry a new section of US Route 93 past the bottleneck of the old road which can be seen twisting and winding around and across the dam itself.



When complete, it will provide a new link between the states of Nevada and Arizona . In an incredible feat of engineering, the road will be supported on the two massive concrete arches which jut out of the rock face.

The arches are made up of 53 individual sections each 24 feet long which have been cast on-site and are being lifted into place using an improvised high-wire crane strung between temporary steel pylons.





The arches will eventually measure more than 1,000 feet across. At the moment, the structure looks like a traditional suspension bridge. But once the arches are complete, the suspending cables on each side will be removed. Extra vertical columns will then be installed on the arches to carry the road.

The bridge has become known as the Hoover Dam bypass, although it is officially called the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, after a former governor of Nevada and an American Football player from Arizona who joined the US Army and was killed in Afghanistan.






Work on the bridge started in 2005 and should finish next year. An estimated 17,000 cars and trucks will cross it every day.

The dam was started in 1931 and used enough concrete to build a road from New York to San Francisco. The stretch of water it created, Lake Mead, is 110 miles long and took six years to fill. The original road was opened at the same time as the famous dam in 1936.

An extra note: The top of the white band of rock in Lake Mead is the old waterline prior to the drought and development in the Las Vegas area. It is over 100 feet above the current water level.

The spectacular BMW World

Whatever BMW does, it does in style!

The iconic carmaker's exhibition centre, called the BMW Welt or BMW World, provides an awe-inspiring experience for customers and helps the company display its offerings in a dreamlike, almost other worldly, setting.

It sits cheek by jowl to the BMW headquarters in Munich, Germany.

The magnificent building was designed by architects Coop Himmelb(l)au for the BMW Group.

As many as 275 architecture firms submitted tenders for the BMW Welt, but in a unanimous decision the winning design was by Professor Wolf D Prix and the Viennese architecture firm Coop Himmelb(l)au.

After 800,000 hours of planning, and 120 architects and engineers collaborating to prepare 15,000 plans, the Munich Olympic Car Park was demolished on August 1, 2003 to make space for the construction of BMW (Welt) World.

On July 16, 2004 the first stone was set, and the final interior touches were given in June 2007. BMW Welt was open to the public in October.

The BMW Welt is located at the exact site where the company has had its base for 90 years: on the Oberwiesenfeld in Milbertshofen, right beside the BMW Group headquarters, which is a 4-cylinder building, and the BMW Museum.

In early 20th century, Oberwiesenfeld was used as an airstrip and two aviation pioneers founded their companies here. Gustav Otto founded Flugmaschinenfabrik (Flight Machine Factory) and Karl Rapp founded Motorenwerk (Motor Works).

In 1917, the two companies merged to form the Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Works, or BMW).

The building has a huge solar power plant on its roof, lending it a futuristic, green look.

In addition to the various presentations, multi-media displays and exhibits about BMW cars and motorcycles, the main function of BMW World is to serve as a highly personalised delivery point of new cars to their owners.

The Plaza within the BMW Welt is the ideal starting point for touring all parts of the building and provides an overview of the very unusual architecture and the various areas within this unique achievement in modern design and engineering.

Directly next to the Northern Entrance the presentation of BMW cars starts at the right, with cars from all current model series being presented in the BMW Welt.

The Bistro is to the left, the Junior Campus a few steps further on to the right. The latter is a special encounter and event area for children and young people between 7 and 13.

BMW Welt Technology and Design Studio is where the enthusiast wishing to experience BMW's art of engineering and design will receive a comprehensive insight into new developments, enjoying interesting exhibitions and interactive exhibits.

The BMW Lifestyle & Original Accessories Shop within the BMW Welt is just a few metres behind the Junior Campus.

Here, aficionados of the brand, sophisticated accessories or Formula 1 will find a unique range of equally unique products.

And this is also where the customer picking up a new car is able to buy accessories on the spur of the moment, such as a roof rack for bicycles or child seats fitted into the car right on the spot.

The Double Cone structure of the BMW World serves as the ideal venue for exclusive cultural events.

The Premiere Level, the very heart of the Car Delivery Centre, is right in the middle of the BMW Welt, directly above the Technology and Design Studio.

BMW Munich Plant builds more than 800 BMW 3 Series (Touring and Saloon models) as well as more than 1,250 power units (straight-six, eight-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines, high-performance M-engines for the M3, M5, and M6, as well as twelve-cylinder gasoline and hydrogen engines) a day.

The BMW Welt is open to public from 9.00 in the morning to 8.00 in the evening.

Car buyers can collect their new automobiles at the BMW Welt from Mondays through Saturdays, as early as at 7.00 in the morning. However, customers cannot take delivery of new automobiles on Sundays or public holidays.