Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 41°34′49″N90°21′54″W / 41.58028°N 90.36500°W |
Carries | 4 lanes of I-80 |
Crosses | Mississippi River |
Locale | LeClaire, Iowa and Rapids City, Illinois |
Maintained by | Illinois Department of Transportation |
Characteristics | |
Design | Steel girder bridge |
Material | Steel |
Total length | 3,483 feet (1,062 m) [1] |
Width | 66 feet (20 m) [1] |
History | |
Designer | Iowa State Highway Commission |
Constructed by | Industrial Construction Company of Minneapolis, Roy Ryan & Sons of Evanston, and Gould Construction Company of Davenport |
Opened | October 27, 1966 [2] |
Statistics | |
Daily traffic | 33,500 [1] |
Location | |
The Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge is a 4-lane steel girder bridge that carries Interstate 80 across the Mississippi River between LeClaire, Iowa and Rapids City, Illinois. The bridge is named for Fred Schwengel, a former U.S. Representative from Davenport, Iowa and one of the driving forces behind the Interstate Highway Act. [3] The structure was designed by the Iowa State Highway Commission, and was built by the Industrial Construction Company of Minneapolis (contractor), Gould Construction Company of Davenport, and Roy Ryan & Sons of Evanston, Indiana who was responsible for the substructure. [4] The bridge opened on October 27, 1966, and is maintained by the Illinois Department of Transportation. It underwent a major rehabilitation project in 1996.
On October 5, 1964, a 40-foot steel and wood form was swinging from its roadstead on pier No. 13 after cement was being dumped on it. [5] In 1965, structural steel was installed on the bridge. During that year, officials inspected the bridge. [2] On June 29, 1966, the bridge's center span was installed. The bridge opened to traffic on October 27, 1966. [5]
In 1995, the bridge was renamed for former U.S. Representative Fred Schwengel. He was among the attendees of the October 27, 1966 bridge opening. [3]
In 2008, the bridge was closed for two months after inspectors found cracks in the steel under the bridge deck. [6] On May 12, 2009, the eastbound lane of the bridge closed after a crack was found in the top flange of the beam. As a result, inspectors visited the bridge and determined on how to repair the beam. [7] The bridge reopened in August 2009. [8] On April 10, 2015, the westbound lanes of the bridge closed for repairs on the joints and reopened on April 14, 2015. [9]
In 2020, the Illinois Department of Transportation began a study, which is expected to cost $20,000, to replace the bridge. [10] The plan from 2020 to 2025 is to spend $304.5 million on the bridge. By 2025, Illinois is expected to spend $23 billion on concrete, as well as fixing and expanding 4,200 miles (6,800 km) of roadways and 9 million square feet (836,000 m²) of bridge decks. The Illinois department will be the lead agency on the project with the state of Iowa sharing in the costs. [10]
It was announced in late October 2024, that the new bridge will include two spans in place of the original single span. [11] A separate multi-use pathway for bicyclists and pedestrians will be included as well as upgrades to the interchanges at both ends of the bridge. Construction is expected to begin in 2028 and last four years.
On March 18, 2021, a plan was announced by Chad Pregracke to repurpose the Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge into a national park. The proposal gives an estimate that taxpayers would save 30 to 40 million dollars by foregoing the demolition of the bridge. The project would allow both bison and pedestrians to roam freely between Iowa and Illinois and also place a visitor center directly on the bridge. [12]
Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a combined statistical area population of 474,019, ranking as the 147th-largest MSA and 91st-largest CSA in the nation. According to the 2020 census, the city had a population of 101,724, making it Iowa's third-most populous city after Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836, by Antoine Le Claire and named for his friend George Davenport.
The Quad Cities is a region of cities in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are the center of the Quad Cities metropolitan area, a region within the Mississippi River Valley, which as of 2023 had a population estimate of 467,817 and a Combined Statistical Area (CSA) population of 474,019, making it the 90th-largest CSA in the nation.
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the original routes of the Interstate Highway System; its final segment was opened in 1986. The second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States after I-90, it runs through many major cities, including Oakland, Sacramento, Reno, Salt Lake City, Omaha, Des Moines, and Toledo and passes within 10 miles (16 km) of Chicago, Cleveland, and New York City.
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The Hernando de Soto Bridge is a tied-arch bridge carrying Interstate 40 across the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee. The design is a continuous cantilevered cable-stayed steel through arch, with bedstead endposts. Memphians also call the bridge the "New Bridge", as it is newer than the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge downstream, and the "M Bridge", due to its distinctive shape. It is of similar construction to the Sherman Minton Bridge between Louisville, Kentucky, and New Albany, Indiana.
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The Government Bridge or Arsenal Bridge spans the Mississippi River, connecting Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa. The Iowa Interstate Railroad uses the upper deck of the bridge for its ex-Chicago and Rock Island Railroad route between Council Bluffs, Iowa and Chicago, Illinois. The lower deck carries automobile traffic between the two cities. It is located near Upper Mississippi Mile Marker 483, adjacent to the Mississippi River Lock and Dam No. 15. The current structure is the fourth at this location. The bridges all were built with a swing section to accommodate traffic navigating the river.
Interstate 74 (I-74) in the US state of Illinois is a major northwest–southeast Interstate Highway that runs across the central portion of the state. It runs from the Iowa state line at the Mississippi River near the city of Rock Island and runs southeast to the Indiana state line east of Danville, a distance of 220.34 miles (354.60 km). The highway runs through the major cities of Champaign, Bloomington, Peoria, and Moline.
Interstate 80 (I-80) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey. I-80 enters Illinois from Iowa in the west, southwest of Rapids City, and runs generally eastward through East Moline, LaSalle, and Joliet, before entering Indiana in Lansing. The Interstate runs for approximately 163.52 miles (263.16 km) through the state.
Frederick Delbert Schwengel was a Republican U.S. Representative from southeastern Iowa.
Interstate 80 (I-80) is a transcontinental Interstate Highway in the United States, stretching from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey. In Iowa, the highway travels west to east through the center of the state. It enters the state at the Missouri River in Council Bluffs and heads east through the southern Iowa drift plain. In the Des Moines metropolitan area, I-80 meets up with I-35 and the two routes bypass Des Moines together. On the northern side of Des Moines, the Interstates split and I-80 continues east. In eastern Iowa, it provides access to the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Northwest of the Quad Cities in Walcott is Iowa 80, the world's largest truck stop. I-80 passes along the northern edge of Davenport and Bettendorf and leaves Iowa via the Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge over the Mississippi River into Illinois.
The Rock Island Lines Passenger Station, also known as Abbey Station, is a historic building located in Rock Island, Illinois, United States. It ceased operating as a railway station in 1980. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and it was designated a Rock Island landmark in 1987.
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