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John Hollenhorst ReportingAn amazing new tourist attraction is taking shape on the rim of the Grand Canyon. You might say it's a place where spectacular scenery meets The Fear Factor. The question is, Would you walk on it?
It's one of the world's most glorious drop offs -- 4,000 feet down to the Colorado River.
For the economically depressed Hualapai Indian Nation, this end of the Grand Canyon is becoming a gold mine. A quarter million tourists a year flock there. Buses and trams are everywhere. Choppers take off and land every couple of minutes. Visitors pay dozens, often hundreds of dollars apiece to tour companies that share profits with the tribe.
Joao Eduardo, Tourist: "I'm going to see the canyon and also to have lunch right here."
And now, to boost tourism even more, the Hualapais are taking a flying leap into the future and over the rim. A giant steel horseshoe is being welded together. It will be a Skywalk with glass walls and a glass floor. Tourists who are not faint-of-heart could look straight down.
4000 feet above the river, it would put the world's tallest buildings to shame. The river is not straight down, but a few bounces would certainly get you there.
Mary Mathews, Dallas, Texas: "I'm not the kind that has a phobia of heights, but I think anybody is going to be a little nervous out there."
A lot of people wonder how the thing will ever stay in place. But the secret is that only the painted part will extend out over the canyon. The unpainted part will be on the mesa-top and bolted to the bedrock.
The pieces were fabricated at Mark Steel in Salt Lake. Engineers have modified the Skywalk since drawings were made public. The light, airy, breathtaking design has given way to a solid, industrial structure with beefed up steel components. That's partly for safety, partly to make it look safer for nervous tourists. Braver ones have already started showing up.
Josh Kennedy, Manchester, England: "We actually came thinking it was done."
It's been delayed and delayed, but someday visitors will have a choice -- walk on it, or not.
Wilfred Whatoname, Jr., Hualapai Nation: "Eventually. Not maybe at the beginning. But I eventually would do it."
Q: "You want to make sure it stays in place first?"
A: "Yeah. That's true. Yeah."
The walk in the sky won't be for everybody, but it will be a new way to experience one of Nature's marvels.
Mary Mathews: "I think it's really going to be a grand attraction. It's a great idea. And why didn't we think of it."
The Skywalk will be at the Hualapai tourist destination called Grand Canyon West. It's a two-and-a-half hour drive from Las Vegas.
