Pseudo-daredevils will have to wait at least until the end of this year to stroll out onto The Grand Canyon Skywalk, a novel attraction being built at remote Eagle Pass on the Hualapai (pronounced "walapie") Reservation in northwest Arizona.

The Skywalk, a large, horseshoe-shaped steel pathway with a clear glass floor, will hang out over the rim of the Grand Canyon, roughly 4,000 feet above the Colorado River. For a sense of perspective, the Stratosphere Tower in neighboring Las Vegas, which boasts of its breathtaking views and dizzying height, is only 1,149 feet tall. And it doesn't have a glass floor.

The opening of The Skywalk, which was supposed to take place on January 1, has been pushed back by a series of maddening, if understandable, delays. Each piece of steel and glass had to be trucked in from hundreds of miles away, and welded together at the site. The tribal council has had to review every step of the project. The visitor's center, which is also being built and which will provide access to the Skywalk, has been repeatedly expanded: it now is planned to stand three stories tall, feature 60-foot waterfalls, an underground gourmet restaurant, and an underground museum from which people can view the footings of The Skywalk anchored to the cliff face. Since over one million pounds of steel are going into The Skywalk, one hopes that its footings go down very, very deep.

Some might wonder if all of this is a little much, given that Eagle Pass is so remote that many people currently come here by flying into a nearby landing strip. But the Hualapai are thinking big. The Skywalk, according to its web site, has "passed engineering requirements by 400 percent" and will be able to deflect winds in excess of 100 miles an hour from eight different directions, ride out an 8.0 magnitude earthquake within 50 miles, and support the weight of 71 fully loaded Boeing 747s. That's a lot of skywalkers.

According to Allison Raskansky, who is in charge of promoting The Skywalk, it will be "pushed out into the Canyon" in September, and will open for business by the new year.

August 2006: From a press release: "The process of welding the steel beams for the glass cantilever-designed bridge, The Skywalk, is now underway. Shortly after the steel is fitted and welded together a process called "Jack-and-Roll" will be used in order to extend the bridges cantilever "U" shape steel piece 4,000 feet over the canyon."

[07/20/2006]