While weather has been cooperative for several months, the process of raising the 34 segments of arch that are needed for the westbound span has proven even more difficult and time-consuming than originally predicted.

Transportation officials have warned since early in the year that the arch-raising process is tedious. The work is precise, given the arches originate on both sides of the Mississippi River's channel, then rise 164 feet above the bridge deck before coming together.

One of the most time-consuming elements of the process has been the construction of the pulley system that will help guide the arches toward their meeting point. A series of cables had to be meticulously threaded into the 200-foot-tall blue/green towers from housings that were built onto piers near the shorelines. The collections of cables then attach from the towers to the arches.

Another step in raising the arches began this week with the addition of lateral braces between the arches. The braces will give the arches more stability as they extend outward.

"The temporary bracing has been a part of the plan for the arch erection process," Alvarez said. "There are a lot of steps to erect the arch."