By Barb Ickes bickes@qctimes.com
Good and bad news share the update on Interstate 74 bridge construction.
First the good news: By next month, the Iowa-bound span should no longer be reduced to one lane at the Bettendorf exit.
The ramp into downtown Bettendorf is being reconfigured to accommodate traffic exiting the bridge from two lanes. The current closure requires both lanes to merge prior to the exit, which has resulted in long lines, delays and crashes.
The widening of the top of the exit is expected to take about three weeks. During that time, construction vehicles will be coming and going from the area, so the Iowa Department of Transportation is asking that motorists be especially cautious and obey the speed limit.
On the bad news front: Progress on the all-important arches has been dramatically abbreviated by flooding. The Mississippi River is too high and too fast to permit contractors to safely move the extra-tall crane that is needed to erect all 30 sections of the arches above the westbound lane.
Without the completed arch, the roadway for the new span cannot be completed. Initially planned to be finished this fall, the westbound lane now is expected to open sometime in the first half of 2020.
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