Artist Milo White had a bet riding that his and Lin McJunkin’s archway would fit perfectly into its previously constructed bolts.

He was right.

The $5,000 artistic archway titled “Inferred” was installed Wednesday afternoon without a hitch. Using the help of a crane provided by Vic Hanson of Hanson’s Building Supply Inc. in Langley, three separate steel pieces were placed carefully by White, McJunkin and a friend. White said the piece is titled “Inferred” because the two outer portions of the archway, which reach upward as if they were two-thirds of a semicircle, appear to run underneath the ground and come out the other end. Though there is still a little work left to be done, such as applying powder coating on the glass, White and McJunkin were visibly relieved and excited to see the archway successfully installed.

“Relieved is probably the best way of putting it,” White said. “It’s one of my babies, that’s for sure. It feels good to have it get home.”

The archway is considered by Langley Arts Commission Chairman Frank Rose to be another step in revitalizing the area behind Callahan’s Firehouse, Useless Bay Coffee Company and Langley Village known as Clyde Alley into a pedestrian corridor ringed with art by local artists, similar to what is currently displayed on Second Street.

The construction process took five to six months from start to finish. White was in charge of creating the steel frame while McJunkin fitted “cells” scattered across the archway with colored glass that will react differently to sunlight throughout the day.

Originally expected to be completed in April, White said delays occurred due to glass molds not fitting into the already-crafted cells on the steel archway. The glass was molded using Computer Numeric Control, or CNC, machining.

“We kept testing to figure that out and finally got to the point where we’re comfortable with the results,” White said. “We’ve been doing pieces similar to this, but nothing this large.”

“This is a larger piece and more ambitious by a long shot,” he added.

McJunkin was slightly nervous during the installation phase of the archway, which she said is the part she has “nightmares” about. All of that washed away once the crane lowered the components of the archway.

“I’m so excited,” McJunkin said. “This is the biggest thing we’ve done together so far. I’m so grateful for Frank [Rose] and the commission for giving us this chance.”

McJunkin said that few people have put glass and steel together due to issues with expansion and contraction during the glass making process and the installation itself. She said a ceramic mold helped prevent the issue from occurring, along with proper sizing of the glass.

Spectators stood idly by as the archway was installed. Among them was Gary Piper, owner of Piper Properties. He’s lived in Langley since 1969.

“Hazel [Clyde] would be happy,” Piper said, referring to Hazel and Norman Clyde who built the Clyde Theater and other establishments after moving to Langley in 1925. “I love it. I think that’s a lot of work and a very unique piece of artwork. I was amazed that it fit right on.”

Rose was also impressed to see the archway come to life.

“I think this is a state-of-the-art technique in mating irregular glass to steel,” Rose said.

Mayor Tim Callison said he was able to walk through the archway on his way to a community arts meeting Thursday morning.

“I loved the archway,” Callison said.