Visitors turned away as Hoover Dam remains closed with no reopening date

Hoover Dam remained closed to visitors Wednesday after federal officials first confirmed the closure Monday evening.

Federal officials have not yet announced a reopening date for the popular tourist site, and a spokesperson for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation declined to say when the dam may reopen. A post on the Hoover Dam Facebook page said the dam will remain closed Thursday.

“I don’t have any updates beyond yesterday’s press release,” Bureau of Reclamation public affairs officer Becki Bryant said Wednesday in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The dam, situated in Black Canyon on the Colorado River near Boulder City, is the most-visited dam in the world, receiving about 7 million visitors a year, according to the National Park Service.

On Wednesday morning, a flashing sign at a roundabout near the dam’s security checkpoint said, “Hoover Dam is closed. No Entry.”

Drivers who continued to the checkpoint were met by multiple security guards who told visitors, some from as far away as eastern Canada, that the dam is closed and instructed them to turn around.

A tourist on a cross-country road trip who identified himself as Bob and wouldn’t give his last name was among those disappointed by the closure.

“I probably won’t be able to visit the Hoover Dam again because it’s very far away from where I live in West Virginia,” said Bob, a coal miner who’s nearing retirement. “It’s also expensive for me to travel here.”

Bryant said that Bureau of Reclamation crews are continuing work to address an equipment issue with the dam’s cableway system, which federal officials cited as the reason for the closure Tuesday. On Wednesday, a contractor arrived to help dam workers assess the equipment, Bryant added.

The 150-ton cableway system near the dam’s parking garage moves large equipment and other materials across the Colorado River between the Nevada and Arizona sides of the power plant, according to bureau officials.

During recent routine maintenance, the cableway carriage “moved unexpectedly and placed additional stress on system components,” the officials said. The area was secured as a precaution, officials said.

“Until the contractor completes its evaluation and safely repositions the cableway carriage, Reclamation cannot estimate when visitor access will resume,” the Tuesday news release said. “The dam and power plant continue to operate normally.”

Contact Lucas Hellberg at lhellberg@reviewjournal.com.