One of a pair of basket-handle twin true-arch bridges is now carrying traffic between Illinois and Iowa. The new $1.2-billion Interstate 74 River Bridge is the first of its kind across the Mississippi River, according to the Iowa Dept. of Transportation.
Weather conditions and the complexity of building the arches pushed initial opening of the westbound side from 2019 to 2020, but general contractor Lunda Construction met the modified deadline in November. Work is now underway on the Illinois-bound arch.