MISSISSIPPI RIVER, Illinois/Iowa -- The arches that will span the river and will serve as the centerpiece the Quad Cities arrived on Nov. 27.
After an 19-day journey over two rivers, a Facebook post from the official I-74 River Bridge page confirmed that the arches made it to the construction site. The structures were loaded onto barges in Gary, Indiana on Nov. 8. The barges then traveled down the Illinois River to St. Louis. From there, they floated up the Mississippi River.
The arches are broken up into segments right now, which lay covered on the barge. That means that, while we can see the barge, we won't be able to see the arches until they are constructed sometime in 2019.
Meanwhile, construction teams will finish pouring the concrete piers that will anchor each arch to the bedrock below. The arch pieces will be stored nearby.
If you're excited for the the bridge look, here's something else that might pique your interest. The arch will have color-changing, fiber optic LED lights, according to the I-74 Facebook page. The lights will be run by the cities of Moline and Bettendorf.
