The Iowa law led to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in 1990. Work along the expressway progressed and by the end of 1972, most of the grading was completed and paving was scheduled for the next year. By mid-September, approximately half the cement-laying was finished. There was a possibility for the highway to be open to traffic by the end of 1973. However, when winter weather hit, there were about ten days of work remaining, which delayed the official opening of the road to early 1974. The expressway was dedicated on June 7, 1974, two weeks after it opened. US 34's relocation onto the new highway was made official when AASHTO gave consent later in the month. Des Moines to Burlington highway The road study organized in 1958 identified roads that should be expanded to four lanes by 1980. In addition to the segments of US 34 between Ottumwa and Burlington, a road connecting Ottumwa to Des Moines was listed. An updated report in 1968 extended the four-lane road to Burlington and called for the highway to be built to freeway standards. Budget constraints in the early part of the 2000s caused the Iowa DOT to table some highway projects, but they were still committed to completing the six high-priority corridors. Part of the budget issues were caused by a change in federal earmark philosophy. Prior to this change, the United States Congress would fund projects individually, but now funding was being given to states in the form of a block grant and discretion on how the funds would be used was now up to the states. The DOT was able to achieve some savings by extending the timeline for completing the priority projects. Construction continued on the Des Moines-to-Burlington route, though at a slower pace. Grading along the bypasses of Danville and Middletown was well underway in 2003, three years behind the original schedule. Paving of the bypass of Mount Pleasant was set to begin in 2004. Ottumwa's bypass opened to traffic on November 19, 2007, also behind schedule. The new road shifted US 63 traffic out of downtown and onto US 34 heading east from the intersection of the two highways near the city's John Deere plant. The final section of the Des Moines to Burlington route was completed in November 2008. Governor Chet Culver presided over the ribbon cutting ceremony that celebrated the opening