Las Vegas Weekly

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“I thought this was going to be a wooden bridge!” a boy shouted to his mother while riding one of the dozens of Deuce buses touring the Mike O’Callahan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge on Saturday. No pessimism about increased traffic flows through Boulder City present on that day—it was all about celebration, all about wide-eyed wonder at what man can achieve, all about optimism. Boulder City will soon be inundated with thousands of big rigs that can now travel past Hoover Dam—and their attendant noise, pollution and congestion—but no one I talked to considers it an inconvenience. Most celebrate the shortened drive time and potential increase in business. “There’s been some concern about (semi) trucks driving through, but ultimately this is going to be good for business, something we’ll all prosper from,” says Karin Watkins, a marketing official with the Hacienda hotel-casino. “Our shops need the business.” Kingman, Arizona resident James Kruschinsky can’t wait to use the bridge to see his uncle in Las Vegas more frequently. He sympathizes with truck drivers who, up until now, had to detour through Searchlight. “I used to be a truck driver. I used to dread having to come this way. This is just excellent all around.”