Contact 13 Posted: July 4, 2005
It is one of the great natural wonders of the world -- and it will soon to be joined by an engineering marvel.
A fantastic glass bridge arcing 60-feet out over the grand canyon -- giving visitors an unobstructed view 4000-feet straight down.
Sheri Yellowhawk, tribal executive says "That's gonna be a scary view. It's gonna be exciting. It's gonna be a once in a lifetime view.
It may be scarey indeed having nothing more than sheets of glass separating you from eternity.
But the bridge has been engineered to withstand 100-mile per hour winds, magnitude 8 earthquakes -- and hold the weight of 71-jumbo jetliners.
The glass bridge -- officially called the canyon skywalk -- been under construction for months here on the west rim of the grand canyon.
It's being built on Hualapai tribal lands -- and the tribe hopes it will become one of the biggest attractions in the southwest.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of this year and when it's up and running, the hualapai expect as many as 3-million people a year will come here -- and take a walk out over the edge.
The idea for the skywalk came from las vegas tour operator David Jin, and its It has taken nearly a decade to turn his dream into a reality.
But not everyone was sold on the idea at first.
There were elders -- and others -- concerned about any construction on pristine native lands.
Tribal Executive Sheri Yellowhawk says "We had the area blessed. We had the elders come out and they talked about it and they said We would like to keep our land the way it is, but we have to look at the future of our kids, to have something that's economiocally feasable for their future
The financial future of the Hualapai is tied to tourism. They are not a gaming tribe.
But they are betting that -- when it comes to the skywalk -- if they build it -- you will come
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