Great Platte River Road Archway Monument
Coordinates: 40°40′11″N 99°02′18″W / 40.669747°N 99.038342°W
The Archway (also known as The Great Platte River Road Archway or Kearney Arch) is a museum of and monument to Nebraska's and the Platte River valley's role in westward expansion. The Archway is directly over Interstate 80 three miles (5 km) east of Kearney, Nebraska.
The Archway spans more than 300 feet over Interstate 80 east of Kearney, Nebraska and weighs nearly 1,500 tons. The Archway takes visitors along the trails, rails, highways and superhighways in a self-guided audio tour that includes stories of the travelers along the way. The show starts in the 1840s with the Mormon Trail, Oregon Trail and California Trail that converged at the nearby Fort Kearny before heading west. As visitors progress through the exhibit, the displays of different time periods feature a buffalo stampede, the Mormon Handcart Expedition, gold seekers, the Pony Express, the telegraph, the transcontinental railroad, the Lincoln Highway, a drive-in movie and a 1950s cafe. A new exit (Exit 275) immediately east of The Archway provides easy access. Exit 272 (to Kearney) also provides access to The Archway.
A monument and tourist attraction highlighting the Platte River valley was a goal of former Governor Frank B. Morrison. In 1997, $60 million in bonds were issued and purchased by investors. On 16 July 2000, the Archway opened to the public, with 223,013 and 249,174 visitors in the attraction's first two years, respectively. First-year visitors included then-president Bill Clinton. These numbers were far short of projections. The monument had to reduce expenses and refinance its bond payments in 2002, reducing the amount owed to $22 million, repaid by 2013.
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