Sometime in 2004, new signs for the Missouri 74 exit in Cape Girardeau appeared. These advance signs for the exit show Cape Girardeau as a destination, and they show Illinois Route 146 as another destination (in highway jargon, "control city"). At least one of the signs for this exit also displays an Illinois highway marker.
Missouri 74 goes to downtown Cape Girardeau and the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge, which replaced an earlier river bridge. On the other side of the Mississippi River, Illinois 146 continues through the southern tip of the state. The new bridge opened to traffic on December 13, 2003.
The photo at upper left shows the view northbound on Interstate 55, while the photo at lower left shows the view southbound (as indicated by the overpass for Bloomfield Road in the foreground).
The Missouri Department of Transportation has photos of the Bill Emerson bridge's construction and dedication at its District 10 site.
Photos courtesy of Rich Piehl (upper left, taken March 3, 2005) and Adam Froehlig (lower left, taken June 29, 2004)