Photo courtesy of Rich Piehl (taken March 2005)
Sometime in 2004, new signs for the Missouri 74 exit in Cape Girardeau appeared. These signs show Cape Girardeau as a destination, and they show Illinois Route 146 as another destination.
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. The new bridge opened to traffic on December 13, 2003.
The Missouri Department of Transportation also has photos of the bridge's construction and dedication at its District 10 site.