Bridge Named ‘Silver Copper Crossing’

Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft and Bullhead City Mayor Steve D’Amico have announced a full morning of activities surrounding the opening of the second bridge connecting Laughlin to Bullhead City, Ariz.

The bridge, officially named “Silver Copper Crossing” by the Clark County Commission today, will open to the public Friday, June 7 at 7 a.m. for residents to enjoy, walk, and bike on, with festivities getting underway at 9 a.m. Public Safety vehicles from local agencies along with classic cars and Corvettes from local car clubs will be on display during the event for public viewing. Pinkbox Doughnuts will furnish free donuts and coffee and Kona Ice will provide free snow cones while supplies last. Local country musician Tyler Halsey will perform live on the bridge during the festivities.

An official ribbon-cutting ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. with the national anthem performed by Tyler Halsey, followed by remarks from Commissioner Naft and Bullhead City Mayor D’Amico. As the ribbon is cut, fire department boats in the river will spray their water cannons. The Nevada Department of Wildlife patrol boat will also be in the water. Activities on the bridge will conclude at 11 a.m. with a parade of classic and unique cars from local car clubs including the Colorado River Corvette Club, the River Cruizers, the River Classics, Pharoah’s, and TNGA crossing the bridge before it is opened to automobile traffic from the general public.

The celebration will then move to the Anderson Auto Group Field House on the Arizona side of the river, where the Laughlin Easy Street Band will perform live, and food for purchase will be available from various food truck vendors.

On the Nevada side, parking will be available at Laughlin Junior-Senior High School, where Silver Rider shuttles, on a limited basis, will transport residents to the bridge and back from 7 a.m. to noon.

On the Arizona side, parking will be available at the Anderson Auto Group Field House, from which residents will be transported a short distance to the bridge by shuttle service and golf carts. Restrooms will be available inside the Anderson Auto Group Fieldhouse and portable restrooms will be situated on the bridge.

The Clark County Commission, at its meeting this morning, named the bridge “Silver Copper Crossing” in recognition of the monikers for Nevada and Arizona, the Silver State and Copper State, respectively.

The 724-foot-long bridge rests 35 feet above the river and carries one lane of traffic in each direction, along with a multi-use trail on the south side for bicyclists, runners, and pedestrians. The bridge has two overlooks for users of the multi-use trail. If needed, the bridge can be restriped to accommodate four lanes of traffic and the multi-use trail.

A 3.5-mile road called Laughlin Parkway was constructed on the Nevada side that connects with Needles Highway just north of the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation. On the Arizona side, Bullhead Parkway was extended from Highway 95 to the bridge. More than 1,400 bushes were planted along the bridge roadways.

The bridge has been sought for decades as a means to facilitate cross-river traffic, facilitate the flow of commerce and improve access for emergency vehicles.

The bridge structure consists of precast concrete girders on drilled shaft foundations. It is located 8 miles south of Laughlin’s only other bridge, which has been in operation since 1987 and was paid for by Laughlin founder Don Laughlin. There is a third, privately maintained bridge 6 miles south of the new structure that connects Fort Mojave to Laughlin near the Avi Resort & Casino via Aztec Road.

Federal funding for this new bridge was first committed in the 1990s and construction began on the $60.6 million project in November 2021. Funding was provided by the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, $34.1 million; the federal government, $20.9 million; Bullhead City, $4.5 million; and Clark County, $1 million.

The project is being delivered through Clark County Public Works with cooperation through U. S. Federal Highway Administration, the Nevada Department of Transportation, Bullhead City, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior, the Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Nevada Division of State Lands, Arizona State Land Department, Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, and Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. Fisher Sand and Gravel, of Tempe, Ariz., is the primary contractor. Construction oversight was provided by WSP, 4LEAF Consulting, Aztech Materials Testing, Newfields Environmental, Ninyo & Moore, and VTN.

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