"The London Bridge tells the story of where we've been, the Freedom Bridge tells the story of where we're going," Mayor Cal Sheehy told the crowd at the groundbreaking on Tuesday, October 13, according to RiverScene Magazine. Six days later the ceremony turned into a job site. The city's project page lists October 19, 2026 as the first day of construction. It says Ames Construction began mobilizing, clearing ground and installing environmental controls on the mainland side, and that none of this early work affects navigation in the channel.
That last detail sets the pattern for the next 18 months. The plans for this bridge are built around how Bridgewater Channel actually gets used. Work happens on weekdays during daylight. The footings go in on ground that is mostly busy only in summer. Boats lose access to the north end of the channel for one stretch of about two weeks, and the planning documents aim that stretch at the off-season. For anyone who walks the Riverwalk, takes a boat through the channel on weekends or drives McCulloch over the London Bridge, the useful question is when the work happens, more than where.
Where the Crossing Lands
The U.S. Coast Guard's April 2026 draft Environmental Assessment puts the new span at Bridgewater Channel river mile 209.3, about 0.3 river miles upstream of the London Bridge. On the Island side, the approach runs south about 0.3 miles and meets McCulloch Boulevard about 500 feet northwest of Beachcomber Boulevard. On the mainland side, it runs about 0.2 miles to London Bridge Road, with a new intersection at Paseo del Sol Avenue. The City Council adopted the names Freedom Bridge and Freedom Avenue on September 22, 2026. Sheehy described the name as a way to honor people who have served the country.
The mainland approach crosses part of Lake Havasu State Park, and that route was settled decades ago. The city signed a memorandum of understanding with the park for the right of way in 1997 and transferred 3.79 acres to the Bureau of Land Management for the park's use as compensation.
The draft EA also lists the "sensitive receivers" it used to model construction and traffic noise. In practice, that list doubles as a roster of the crossing's closest neighbors:
- Island side, along McCulloch and Beachcomber: Studio 6 Hotel at 1300 McCulloch Blvd N, Isleside Condos at 1402 McCulloch Blvd N, The Isles Condos at 1401 McCulloch Blvd N, and Crazy Horse Campgrounds at 1534 Beachcomber Blvd
- Mainland side, along London Bridge Road: Kings View Condos at 96, Sway Hotel at 101, Motel 6 at 111, Hampton Inn at 245, Super 8 at 305, Rodeway Inn & Suites at 335, and Windsor Beach Condos at 375
Ground That Is Busiest in Summer
The Island-side work area is used lightly for most of the year. The draft EA describes it as wildlife habitat, a utility corridor and recreation space, where people ride off-road vehicles, walk from nearby homes and beach boats during the peak season, which the document defines as May through September. The state park portion holds beach areas, parking lots and a city well pump station.
That timing matters because of when construction started. By the time Island beaching picks up in May 2027, the project will have spent about seven months on its early phases. Ames Construction's sequence in the EA puts survey, fencing, stormwater controls, foundations and abutments ahead of any steel going overhead.
The draft EA estimates construction at roughly 15 to 24 months and says work would be done during daytime hours on weekdays. It notes that a few tasks, such as utility connections or the concrete bridge deck pour, may have to happen at night, limited to a few days. The bridge portion of that sequence runs in this order:
- Survey to lay out project boundaries, 1 to 2 weeks
- Temporary fencing, including along the channel, 1 week
- Stormwater best management practices, 1 week
- Bridge foundations, 12 drilled shafts with casings, 3 weeks
- Abutments and pier, 8 weeks
- Retaining and wing walls, backfilled abutments, 14 weeks
- Steel girders assembled onsite in a staging area, 2 weeks
- Girders placed by barge, with a crane on either side of the channel, 2 weeks
- Deck formwork and rebar, 14 weeks
- Backwalls, multi-use path and landscaping, 14 weeks
The roadway work runs alongside it. Grading and the embankment, utilities and retaining walls are each estimated at 24 weeks, with striping, signage and landscaping at the end. Drivers will see some of it. The draft EA expects temporary rerouting of local streets, lane closures, temporary traffic controls and reduced access for residents, businesses and visitors near the new intersections. It calls for a Transportation Management Plan to handle safety and access. The city has not yet published a street-by-street detour map, so the project page is the place to watch for one.
The Two Weeks Worth Marking on the Calendar
Step 8 on that list is the only one that reaches into the channel itself. According to the draft EA, the north portion of Bridgewater Channel would close to vessel traffic while girders are brought in by barge, a job estimated at about two weeks. The Tecopa ferry, the 65-foot passenger catamaran the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe runs between its dock next to the English Village and Havasu Landing on the California side, could keep operating through the south entrance of the channel. The city would coordinate schedules with the Chemehuevi Transit Authority.
When that happens matters a great deal. The draft EA describes channel traffic as heavy during the busy boating season, generally mid-March through Labor Day, and especially on holiday and event weekends. Its mitigation table proposes scheduling the girder-placement closure for September through February, if possible, so it falls outside that season. The draft describes the closure as a temporary impact on boaters "during the off-season."
The contractor's comments at the groundbreaking point toward a different month. "You're probably going to see the biggest cranes in this town you have ever seen. We are looking at June to see first girders coming in," Scott Jones of Ames Construction said, as RiverScene Magazine reported. Girders "coming in" could mean steel arriving at the staging area, which the sequence shows taking about two weeks of assembly before any barge work. That leaves the actual closure date open, and the draft EA's timing remains a proposal until the city posts a notice.
For anyone whose summer runs through the north end of the channel, the city's project page is the most direct way to follow it. The page offers email notifications, posts construction updates and names Capital Programs Manager Jason Hart as the project contact.
Why the Channel Looks the Same Afterward
Once the bridge is finished, it won't constrain boats the way the London Bridge does. The London Bridge has a vertical clearance of 34.4 feet above the ordinary high water mark. The draft EA says the new span would sit higher than that, with its piers outside the channel, so it would not affect vessel traffic over the long term or restrict navigation in Bridgewater Channel. The entire channel stays a No Wake Zone, as it is now.
Traffic on land is what changes. "For years, London Bridge has been the Island's only connection to the mainland. In an emergency, one way in and one way out simply doesn't cut it," Congressman Paul Gosar said at the ceremony, according to RiverScene Magazine. The draft EA expects the second route to reduce existing and future traffic on the London Bridge and to improve travel and emergency response times to the Island.
The Path at the End of the Build
For people who walk or ride bikes, the last 14-week step is the one to look forward to. Project figures quoted by RiverScene describe a bridge about 449 feet long, with a multi-use path behind a concrete railing and guardrail. Freedom Avenue would run about a quarter mile from the bridge to McCulloch.
The path connects to the existing channel walk. Jason Hart said it "will connect where the existing channel path ends. It will run underneath the bridge, go up along western side, State Park side, up to the bridge and cross over," as quoted by RiverScene Magazine. Today the city's channel walk and Island trail system carry walkers, joggers and cyclists around the Island and along Bridgewater Channel. The new crossing would turn the end of the channel walk into a loop across the water toward the state park.
The money is in place. The state appropriated $35.5 million through an intergovernmental agreement with ADOT for study, design and construction. On August 25, 2026, the City Council approved a construction-phase guaranteed maximum price of $39,921,502.30 with Ames Construction. The funding draws on that state appropriation along with city water, wastewater and drainage funds tied to those parts of the project. The city's schedule calls for completion in April 2028.
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