Illinois, Iowa officials unveil completed $1.2 billion bridge in Quad Cities

[December 02, 2021]  By Greg Bishop

(The Center Square) – A $1.2 billion bridge years in the making connecting Illinois and Iowa in the Quad Cities is complete.

Scott Marler, the director of the Iowa Department of Transportation, said the project over the Mississippi River on I-74 was a long time coming.

“Today we celebrate nearly 25 years of planning, coordination and hard work that has made this river bridge project a reality,” Marler said. “This exceptional structure represents the single largest transportation project in the history of Iowa and is a testament toward what can be accomplished when we work together toward a common goal.”

Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation, Omer Osman, said the bridge opening in a few days will get people where they need to go safely.

Scott Marler, the director of the Iowa Department of Transportation and Scott Marler, the director of the Iowa Department of Transportation  

• State of Illinois

“That is vital to the health and wellbeing of our two states,” Osman said. “Today is just a start of the great things to come for the Quad Cities.”

The span with four lanes each way includes a separate pedestrian lane.