The first section of freeway to open, between Third Street and Central Avenue, opened in 1971 to little fanfare. The seven blocks of new road cost $6.65 million (equivalent to $ in ), just under the original proposed cost of the entire project. Ramps connecting the freeway to the MacArthur Bridge would not open until 1974. For most traffic, the new access to the bridge was seen as an improvement, but not for wide loads. Traffic wider than could not pass between the westbound tollbooth and railing. A temporary solution was for wide loads to block eastbound traffic and pass through the eastbound tollbooth lane, immediately exit the freeway via the eastbound entrance ramp, and perform an end-around on city streets to come back to the westbound entrance ramp. Work progressed to the west toward Roosevelt Avenue (US 61). Curran Street was closed in late 1972 for the construction of an overpass above the freeway. By mid-1974, grading work was completed and crews were working on laying road base and paving. A ribbon cutting ceremony on June 13, 1975, along with the removal of barricades, marked the opening of the freeway between Central and Roosevelt Avenues. West of Roosevelt Avenue, construction lagged behind. Work was scheduled to begin in 1976 after the freeway opened up to Roosevelt Avenue, but financial problems at the Iowa Highway Commission, including a 42-percent increase in construction costs, led to delays. The commission had asked that US 534 project be delayed until at least 1978, which meant completion would not occur until 1980. They also asked that the plans to widen US 61 from West to Sunnyside Avenues in western Burlington, which included the connection between the 534 freeway and US 34, be scrapped entirely. City leaders pressed the commission to include US 61 in their plans as its need was more urgent than the completion of the 534 freeway. In February 1975, President Gerald Ford released $2 billion (equivalent to $ in ) of impounded highway funds, of which, at least $40 million (equivalent to $ in ) was allocated for Iowa projects. With the new federal funding, the highway commission resumed the US 534 project, among other "ready to go" projects. Prior to the new funding, the commission was only going to build an interchange at Gear Avenue in West Burlington. Work was completed on the final section within two years. It opened