The unique and stunning new Interstate 74 Bridge continues to make its mark.
The latest first-class recognition of the award-winning structure that celebrated its grand opening on Dec. 1, 2021, is from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).
When the agency that handles the U.S. mail announced the latest round of new stamps for 2023, the structure was among four bridges of note to be included in a four-pack of Presorted First-Class Mail stamps.
While most Quad Citians aren’t likely to buy them – they are available for purchase as a group by bulk mail users in coils of 3,000 and 10,000 – the structure’s inclusion continues to raise the profile of this one-of-a-kind bridge and bike path.
The new stamps also could capture the attention of philatelists everywhere.
The quartet features existing photographs of four different bridges that range from modern to historic, pedestrian to car-carrying, but all are important landmarks in their communities, the USPS said.
They are: the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown, Connecticut; the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge in Omaha, Nebraska; the Skydance Bridge in Oklahoma City; and the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge (Interstate 74) in Bettendorf and Moline. Art director Ethel Kessler designed the stamps.
The Bridges collection is among an eclectic mix of stamps issued by USPS this year.
For example, the latest stamps announced include a quartet of stamps called “Art of the Skateboard,” a Priority Mail Stamp of the Florida Everglades and a stamp honoring Tomie dePaola, an award-winning children’s author. It was designed using some of the author’s original art.
The stamps, which will be released in January, join a number of others announced in October that included a stamp honoring the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and U.S. Rep. John Lewis (1940-2020) of Georgia.
