A friend’s friend’s son works as Construction Superintendent on this beautiful bridge project and they sent me these photos. This $160M project was under construction last year when TBW and I toured Hoover Dam. They’ve made substantial progress since then and seem to be nearly completion.

The 53 concrete arch sections (each 24′ long) have been cast on site and lifted into place. The steel cables supporting the concrete are temporary and will be removed when the arch connects and starts to act like an arch.

This $160M seems like a reasonable investment for America to make. The traffic flow between Nevada and Arizona will substantially improve and the Hoover Dam will be more easily protected from terrorist shenanigans.

As I watch the health care bill proceed in a total bipartisan battle, I wonder if America can agree on any big issues anymore. Could we build the interstate highway system if we were starting now? Could we design and build the power plants and chemical plants that have helped us prosper?

Looking towards the New Year, I’m going to try to be less of a bonehead, not always needing to get my own way. If we all work at giving in on the non-essentials (which are about 98% of the things in our life), maybe we can start moving America back towards getting big and important things done.

Here’s a last look at one of those big and important things: