West Rim getting massive skywalk

A glass-bottom, horseshoe-shaped skywalk extending 60 feet out and 4,000 feet above the Canyon is being constructed on the West Rim through a joint partnership between the Hualapai Tribe and Destination Grand Canyon's Grand Canyon Skywalk Development Corporation.

According to Destination Grand Canyon Marketing Manager Irene Dudley, work started on the project in March of 2004, with completion expected by the end of the year.

She said they expect the skywalk to open for business sometime next January, and that an admission will likely be charged.

According to a fact sheet that Dudley provided on the project, the bridge was constructed from more than a million pounds of steel and was designed to withstand winds exceeding 100 miles per hour and earthquakes of 8.0 magnitude within a 50-mile radius. Based on final approval tests in May, it is able to support 71 fully-loaded Boeing 747 airplanes - more than 71 million miles.

It is being built on Hualapai land.

Dudley said figures on the cost of the project were not available.