The monument, suspended viewing platform, and associated visitor centre were commissioned by Ashghal (the public works authority), designed by German architect Erik Behrens for AECOM,[6][7] engineering by Maffeis Engineering[8] and constructed by Eversendai – with an intended completion date of 2016.[9] At a cost of $74m, construction began in December 2013 and after partial completion was inaugurated along with the expressway for National Day celebrations in December 2017.[4][10] Due to construction occurring during the 2017 Qatar blockade the arches have taken on a local cultural significance of "resilience", and are now known as the 5/6 Arches (referring to 5 June when the diplomatic crisis began) along with "5/6 interchange" and the neighbouring "5/6 park".[4][11][12][13] The construction expressway interchange and Arches replaced the "Rainbow (Arch) roundabout" which used to stand on the site.[14][8]