The Hoover Dam bypass bridge is now open to traffic after years of planning and more than five years of construction.

The Arizona Department of Transportation says the $240 million bridge along U.S. 93 officially opened Tuesday night.

Transportation officials say the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge is intended to create a high-speed bypass of Hoover Dam for Arizona travelers heading to and from Las Vegas.

ADOT says the span also creates a safer and more efficient route for all travelers and commercial truck traffic, while maintaining critical economic ties between Arizona and Nevada and the southwest region.

www.hooverdambypass.org

- AP