I-74 Bridge

Last updated

Interstate 74 Bridge
2022 I-74 Bridge 01.jpg
New and old bridges in 2022.
Coordinates 41°31′01″N90°30′38″W / 41.51694°N 90.51056°W / 41.51694; -90.51056
Carries8 lanes of I-74.svgUS 6.svg I-74  / US 6
Crosses Mississippi River
Locale Bettendorf, Iowa, and Moline, Illinois
Official nameIowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge
Maintained by Iowa Department of Transportation [1]
Characteristics
DesignTwin basket-handle, through arch
Longest span800 ft (244 m)
History
OpenedNovember 13, 2020;3 years ago (2020-11-13)
(northbound)
December 2, 2021;2 years ago (2021-12-02)
(southbound)
Statistics
Daily traffic 80,000 [2]
Location
I-74 Bridge

The Interstate 74 Bridge, officially known as the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge, and often called The Twin Bridges, or the I-74 Bridge, are basket-handle, through arch twin bridges that carry Interstate 74 across the Mississippi River and connect Bettendorf, Iowa, and Moline, Illinois. It is located near the geographic center of the Quad Cities.

Contents

Current bridge

Construction of the new bridge in 2019. 2019 I-74 Bridge construction 01.jpg
Construction of the new bridge in 2019.
Construction of the nearly completed bridge in 2021. 2021 I-74 Bridge construction 02.jpg
Construction of the nearly completed bridge in 2021.

Funding and planning

The I-74 Corridor Study was completed to study replacing the old bridge with a larger one with 4 lanes in each direction. The study claimed that the I-74 Bridge project would spur economic growth, create construction jobs, reduce traffic backups, and improve air quality. Funding for the construction of the new bridge had been earmarked for $22 million in 2017 and $50 million in 2018. Former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn said the state is committed to bridge improvements to help traffic flow and "boost economic growth in the region".

By 2012, the Illinois Department of Transportation budgeted more than $34 million for engineering, design, and land acquisition for the new bridge. The conceptual design of the arch bridge was completed by CH2M Hill and Boston-based bridge designer Miguel Rosales from Rosales + Partners. Final design was completed by Modjeski and Masters in association with Alfred Benesch & Company. The portion of the bridge spanning the Mississippi River was estimated at more than $700 million, while the project as a whole, including all approach routes and connectors, was estimated at $1.2 billion.

Opening of the current bridge and closure of the original

On November 13, 2020, the Iowa-bound side of the new bridge opened to motorists. [3] The bridge was officially dedicated on December 1, 2021. Speakers included Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker and other state and local officials from both Illinois and Iowa. [4] The second span for Illinois-bound traffic was opened the following evening. [5] The pedestrian and bike path was opened on April 27, 2022. [6] An elevator up to the walkway in Bettendorf has yet to be completed.

The new bridge is just upstream from the old bridge and is a basket-handle, through-arch twin bridge with four lanes in each direction and a pedestrian/bicycle path. A ground-breaking ceremony for the new bridge was held on June 26, 2017. The westbound bridge was expected to be completed in late 2019 and the eastbound span was expected to be completed in late 2020. [7] Winter weather conditions and the resulting high water over an extended period of time, however, created delays and the opening of the first span was pushed to the first half of 2020.

Original bridge

I-74 Bridge (original)
I-74 Bridge.jpg
The old bridges as seen from the Iowa side of the Mississippi River,before any construction began.
Coordinates 41°31′12″N90°30′48″W / 41.52000°N 90.51333°W / 41.52000; -90.51333
Carries4 lanes of I-74.svgUS 6.svg I-74  / US 6
Crosses Mississippi River
Locale Bettendorf, Iowa and Moline, Illinois
Official nameIowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge
Maintained by Iowa Department of Transportation [8]
Characteristics
Designtwin arch bridges
Total length3,372 feet (1,028 m) [9]
Width27 feet (8 m) [9]
Longest span227 metres (745 ft)
Clearance below Mississippi River
History
OpenedNovember 18, 1935 (first span)
December 1959 (second span)
Closed2020 (both spans fully demolished by late 2023)
Statistics
Daily traffic 80,000 [2]
TollFormer
Location
I-74 Bridge

History

Before the first span was built, the only bridge in the Tri Cities was the Government Bridge between Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa. [10] William P. Bettendorf, founder of the Bettendorf Company and namesake for the city of Bettendorf, began planning a toll bridge between Bettendorf and Moline in 1907. The year before, the United States Congress passed a law allowing private citizens to build a bridge as a business venture. Bettendorf died in 1910 and the momentum to build the bridge died with him.

Funding, planning, and completion

In 1931, the city of Davenport along with a group of local businessmen formed the Davenport Bridge Commission to construct the new bridge. Moline refused to grant the franchise for the bridge and the early years of the Great Depression made it difficult for the businessmen to finance it on their own without the city's help. [10] After several setbacks because of design and location issues, construction for the first span began in 1934. It was designed by engineer Ralph Modjeski. The first span opened on November 18, 1935, as a toll bridge. Tolls were set at 15 cents for passenger vehicles and light trucks, 30 cents for heavy trucks, and 5 cents for pedestrians to use the sidewalk.

Improvements

In 1959, an identical twin span, built from the same blueprint, opened to facilitate increased traffic demands. Money from tolls paid for most of the new span. [10] The upstream span was the older of the two. [11] Tolls were discontinued in 1970. Interstate 74 was routed over the bridges in 1975, with onramps being redesigned to facilitate as such.

Problems

Built for a daily crossing of 48,000 vehicles, in its later years the daily average grew to 80,000, [2] making it by far the most traveled bridge in the Quad Cities. In 1994, the Illinois Department of Transportation had requested a study of bridges from Interstate 80 to Interstate 280 in the Quad Cities and the Bi-State Regional Commission agreed. The other two Interstate bridges were up to Interstate standards, while the Interstate 74 Bridge was functionally obsolete and was not built to Interstate standards, as both of them predated I-74's routing through the area. Each span had two narrow lanes, no shoulder, and a 50-mile-per-hour (80 km/h) speed limit. While on a tour at the base of the bridge in Bettendorf in May 2012, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that, in comparison with other bridges that he has seen in other states, the I-74 Bridge is one of the worst he's seen. [12] [13]

Demolition of the old spans

The contract for demolishing the old spans over the river was awarded in 2022 to the Helm Group, the company who had a part in constructing the new viaducts in downtown Bettendorf. Because it would be taken down piece-by-piece, demolition of the old bridge was not expected to be completed until circa 2024. [14] In December 2022, the United States Postal Service announced that an image of the new I-74 bridge would be one of four bridge stamps released in 2023. [15] On May 17, 2023, it was announced that the towers and cables on the Illinois-bound side of the old bridge would be demolished by using explosive charges. The demolition would take place on a Sunday morning between June or July, though the exact date was not revealed. [16]

On June 18, 2023, the trusses of the deckless Illinois bound span were detonated with explosives, leaving only a small part of the bottom superstructure to be removed in a future demolition. [17] On August 27, 2023, the Iowa bound trusses were also blasted, in addition to the implosion of the Illinois bound piers. [18] The final detonation occurred on October 15th, with the Iowa bound piers being imploded. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davenport, Iowa</span> City in Iowa, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quad Cities</span> Metropolitan area in the United States

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 2013 had a population estimate of 383,781 and a Combined Statistical Area (CSA) population of 474,937, making it the 90th-largest CSA in the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 74</span> Interstate Highway in the Midwest and in North Carolina

Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa ; the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange with I-75 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The major cities that I-74 connects to include Davenport, Iowa; Peoria, Illinois; Bloomington, Illinois; Champaign, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Cincinnati, Ohio. I-74 also exists as several disconnected sections of highways in North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott County, Iowa</span> County in Iowa, United States

Scott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 174,669, making it the third-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Davenport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moline, Illinois</span> City in Illinois, United States

Moline is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa. The Quad Cities have an estimated population of 381,342. The city is the ninth-most populated city in Illinois outside the Chicago Metropolitan Area. The corporate headquarters of Deere & Company is located in Moline, as was Montgomery Elevator, which was founded and headquartered in Moline until 1997, when it was acquired by Kone Elevator, which has its U.S. Division headquartered in Moline. Quad City International Airport, Black Hawk College, and the Quad Cities campus of Western Illinois University-Quad Cities are located in Moline. Moline is a retail hub for the Illinois Quad Cities, as South Park Mall and numerous big-box shopping plazas are located in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock Island, Illinois</span> City in Illinois, United States

Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Arsenal Island. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities has a population of about 480,000. The city is home to Rock Island Arsenal, the largest government-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal in the US, which employs 6,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bettendorf, Iowa</span> City in Iowa, United States

Bettendorf is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. It is the 15th largest city of Iowa and the third-largest city in the "Quad Cities". It is part of the Davenport–Moline–Rock Island, IA-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 39,102 at the 2020 census.

SouthPark Mall is a shopping mall located in Moline, Illinois. As Moline is part of the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa, the mall serves the population of these cities. The mall is located southwest of the intersection of Interstate 74 and Illinois Route 5 at 4500 16th Street. SouthPark Mall is one of two regional malls in the Quad Cities area, the other being NorthPark Mall in Davenport, Iowa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 280 (Iowa–Illinois)</span> Highway in Illinois and Iowa

Interstate 280 (I-280) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that makes up the western and southern portions of the beltway around the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. The freeway starts at I-80 near Davenport, Iowa, and ends at I-80 near Colona, Illinois; its eastern part runs concurrent with I-74 to return to I-80. I-280 forms the southern part of a circle around the Quad Cities as well as forming part of a bypass for US Route 61 (US 61) around Davenport. This road is 26.98 miles (43.42 km) long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock Island Centennial Bridge</span> Bridge in Iowa and Rock Island, Illinois

The Rock Island Centennial Bridge, officially the Master Sargeant Stanley W. Talbot Memorial Bridge, connects Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa. The bridge is 3,850 feet (1,173 m) long and stands 170 feet (52 m) above water level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge</span> Bridge in Iowa and Rapids City, Illinois

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. 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. The bridge opened on October 27, 1966, and is maintained by the Illinois Department of Transportation. It underwent a major rehabilitation project in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savanna–Sabula Bridge</span> Bridge in Iowa, River Mile

The Savanna–Sabula Bridge was a truss bridge and causeway crossing the Mississippi River that connected the city of Savanna, Illinois, with the island city of Sabula, Iowa. The bridge was put out of service on November 17, 2017, when its replacement, which lies a few dozen feet downstream, opened as the Dale Gardner Veterans Memorial Bridge. The bridge carried U.S. Route 52 over the river. It was also the terminus of both Iowa Highway 64 and Illinois Route 64. The bridge carried an average of 2,170 vehicles daily as of 2015, with 6% of that being truck traffic.

KWQC-TV is a television station licensed to Davenport, Iowa, United States, serving the Quad Cities area as an affiliate of NBC. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on Brady Street in downtown Davenport, and its transmitter is located near Orion, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government Bridge</span> Bridge connecting Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 74 in Illinois</span> Highway in Illinois

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 80 in Iowa</span> Highway in 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 67 in Iowa</span> Highway in Iowa

U.S. Highway 67 (US 67) is a U.S. Highway in extreme eastern Iowa. The route begins in Davenport at the Rock Island Centennial Bridge where it crosses the Mississippi River and ends at an intersection with US 52 and Iowa Highway 64 (Iowa 64) west of Sabula. It passes through Bettendorf, Le Claire, and Clinton. Except for Folletts, every community which US 67 enters sits along the Mississippi River. As such, most of the route is part of the Great River Road, an All-American Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 74 in Iowa</span> Highway in Iowa

Interstate 74 (I-74) is the central freeway through the Iowa Quad Cities. It roughly divides Davenport to the west and Bettendorf to the east. The Interstate Highway begins at an interchange with I-80 at the northeastern edge of Davenport and continues into Illinois at the Mississippi River by crossing the I-74 Bridge. The freeway was built in stages during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The Big X is the junction of three Interstate Highways, I-74, I-80, and I-280, near Colona, Illinois. The cloverleaf interchange is particularly confusing for I-74 and I-80 traffic because someone wishing to stay on either route must exit their highway to connect to the other highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davenport–Moline–Clinton, Muscatine, Iowa–Illinois Combined Statistical Area</span> CSA in the United States

Greater Quad Cities, IA/IL is a nickname for the Davenport–Moline, IA–IL Combined Statistical Area, an area that is made up of four counties in Iowa and three in Illinois. The statistical area includes one metropolitan areas and two micropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the CSA had a population of 471,551.

References

  1. ↑ "I-74 River Bridge | About".
  2. 1 2 3 https://www.helmgroup.com/documents/HelmGroup-Fall2011_CS5.pdf%5B%5D
  3. ↑ Trix, Herb. "Half of New I-74 Bridge Ready to Open". Rock Island: WVIK . Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  4. ↑ Barb Ickes (December 2, 2021). "Spanning the ages: Thousands celebrate the new I-74 bridges". Quad-City Times. Davenport. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  5. ↑ Staff report (December 3, 2021). "Illinois-bound span of I-74 bridge now open to traffic". Quad-City Times. Davenport. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  6. ↑ KWQC Staff (April 27, 2022). "I-74 bike and pedestrian paths now open". Davenport: KWQC-TV . Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  7. ↑ Staff report (June 26, 2017). "I-74 bridge replacement project applauded by Q-C, state leaders". The Dispatch / The Rock Island Argus . East Moline. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  8. ↑ "I-74 River Bridge | About".
  9. 1 2 "Bridges: Iowa, Illinois order safety inspections". Quad City Times. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  10. 1 2 3 Brooklyn Draisey (December 26, 2021). "Bridging the past and future: A look at how the old and new I-74 bridges came to be". Quad-City Times . Davenport. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  11. ↑ "I-74 Bridge". bridgehunter.com. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  12. ↑ Funding Back For I-74 Bridge - KWQC-TV6 News and Weather For The Quad Cities Archived May 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ "Schilling, Loebsack Applaud the Illinois DOT's Decision to Fund I-74 Bridge | Congressman Bobby Schilling". Archived from the original on June 25, 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  14. ↑ KWQC Staff (September 27, 2022). "Old I-74 bridge to be dismantled piece-by-piece". Davenport: KWQC-TV. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  15. ↑ KWQC Staff (December 20, 2022). "I-74 bridge to be stamp in 2023". Davenport: KWQC-TV. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  16. ↑ O'Neill, Michelle (May 17, 2023). "Helm to Use Explosives to Demolish Towers of Old I-74 Bridges". WVIK, Quad Cities NPR. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Demolition of Old I-74 Bridge Towers & Cables". WVIK, Quad Cities NPR. June 20, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  18. ↑ Hipskind, Jenny (August 27, 2023). "Old I-74 bridge span comes crashing and splashing down". wqad.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  19. ↑ Underwater implosion takes out old I-74 Bridge piers , retrieved February 8, 2024
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.